For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you you should repeat these words after passing out the bread during the Lord’s Supper but before eating the bread, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, repeat these words after passing out the cups but before drinking saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-25 re-mix)

(Please read the first post for an explanation of this series.)

I was tired. Very tired. Then the phone rang.

It was Mrs. Peggy. She lives in “The Neighborhood” where my family has spent time during the last 18 months getting to know the residents and serving them in different ways. When my friend Cathy first introduced me to her just over a year ago, Mrs. Peggy was getting ready to have surgery on her ear because she had cancer. She was a “member” of a local church, but she said she rarely heard from them. As a church and as her friends, we were able to pray for her, take her to doctor’s appointments, get her a special pillow that would be less painful, rake her leaves, and sing Christmas carols to her.

But, when she called me last night, I wasn’t thinking about any of that. I was thinking that I was tired. She wasn’t thinking about any of that either. She was thinking exactly what she said to me: “Jerry left home, and we don’t know where he is. I’m afraid that he wants to hurt himself.” Jerry is Mrs. Peggy’s 39 year old nephew and neighbor. We first heard about Jerry when Mrs. Peggy asked us to pray for him and a legal situation with his family. Later, she asked if I would drop in and introduce myself to Jerry because he was lonely.

I’ve talked with Jerry several times. He struggled with depression; he knew it, and he would talk to me and Mrs. Peggy about it. When she called me, she told me that he had tried to overdose on anti-depressant medication a few weeks ago. Some family members found him, and they were able to get him to the hospital. But, now, Jerry had left home, and they were afraid that he was going to try to hurt himself again.

I wish I could say that I rushed over to spend time with Mrs. Peggy. I didn’t. All I could think about was how tired I was. I told her that I would come by and see her the next day.

A couple of hours later, I left the house to pick up my son Jeremy at the local ice rink where he went skating with some friends. On the way to pick him up, I passed close to Mrs. Peggy’s house. I thought about her waiting there alone, hoping and praying that Jerry would return safe. When I picked up Jeremy, I was supposed to take him to a friend’s house to spend the night. I told him about the phone call from Mrs. Peggy and asked if we could stop by her house first (if she was still awake). He said, “Yes.” (I’m glad my son is more caring than I was.)

When we drove by her house, I could see her sitting in her recliner through the front window, so we stopped. While we were there, she told us about Jerry and about her childhood and about how worried she was. Jeremy and I both hugged her and prayed with her before we left.

The next morning (this morning), I went to Mrs. Peggy’s house again. Her daughter was with her this time. They had still not heard from Jerry. The police and other family members were looking for him. They were hoping and praying that they would find him in a homeless shelter and that he would come back home soon. I helped her get something to eat, and washed her dishes. Before I left, I asked them to call me if they heard anything from Jerry, and I told Mrs. Peggy that I would check on her soon.

I left Mrs. Peggy’s and went to the nursing home to visit Mrs. Jenny. We had not seen her in a long time because of sickness and travel. While I was talking with Mrs. Jenny, my phone rang, but I let it go to voice mail.

When I left the nursing home, I checked my voice mail. It was Mrs. Peggy’s daughter. They had found Jerry’s body. I could hear Mrs. Peggy crying loudly in the background.

When I got back to Mrs. Peggy’s house, there were alot of people there: relatives, police, firemen… I knelt in front of her and hugged her, and she just cried into my shoulder for a long time. I told her I loved her, and that God loved her. I wanted to do so much more… to say so much more… but there was nothing else that I could do, and it wasn’t the time to say anything else.

This is the second time within a year that someone I met in that neighborhood had decided to take their own life. On the one hand, it makes me want to stop spending time in the neighborhood. Dealing with things like this is heartbreaking, oppressive, discouraging…

But, on the other hand, I think the most important thing that I’ve done in the last year… perhaps longer… is to kneel down in front of Mrs. Peggy, let her cry in my shoulder, and tell her that I loved her and that God loved her. In that sorrowful, painful, heartbroken moment… God was present.

All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer… (Acts 1:14 ESV)

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2:42 ESV)

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. (Acts 3:1 ESV)

And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them…” And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:24, 31 ESV)

How, when, where, and why does your church pray together?

I think there are several reasons for this, and I’m working on a post (or series of posts) concerning one possible cause: our understanding of expertise and experts.

Laura at “Who in the World are We?” has written a short essay concerning speakers and non-speakers in a post called “How do you Balance Talkers and Listeners?” She says:

I’ve been on both sides of this problem: the talky expert and the quieted voice. Neither one is good. Communal Bible study must happen as community, not merely in community. Participation, not mere presence, makes for community. If it occurs otherwise, then it is probably a lecture–and likely a boring one at that.

How do you balance the voices in communal Bible study, honoring both expert and non-expert?

In most church meetings, this is not an issue (or perhaps you could say the issue is taken to the extreme) because only one (or a few) people speak or take part in the meeting.

How would you answer Laura’s question? How should the church balance the “voices” during church meetings (not just Bible studies)?

In a post from three years ago called “The Sacraments and the Church,” I interacted with a statement from Peterson’s book concerning one of the reformational “marks” of the church: the sacraments (ordinances, whatever). Here is that post:

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The Sacraments and the Church

I have been greatly challenged by Jim Peterson’s book Church Without Walls. In chapter nine, “New Boundaries for the Church,” he states, “One lesson that comes through in our discussion of history and of form and function is that the church has constantly tended toward narrowing.” What he means by this is that historical periods (i.e. the church fathers, the reformation), theological systems, denominational distinctives, and culture add limitations to our understanding of Scripture and, therefore, our understaning of the church. Here is one example:

One example is the Reformers’ treatment of the sacraments. Previously the pope had served as the unifying factor for the church. He defined the church. Since all the Reformers rejected the authority of the pope, a replacement symbol was needed. It is significant that the sacraments-particularly baptism and the Lord’s Supper-are included in virtually all of their definitions. But do they belong at all? Is that why the sacraments were given to God’s people? Is it baptism that makes a church a church? Is that why the Lord’s Supper was instituted? The sacraments were not given to define the church for us. And whenever we impose a second meaning on something in this manner, its true significance is diminished or even lost.

For the past few months, I have been pondering a definition of the church. I even had a series of blog posts about the definition of the church (Final post with links to previous posts). My definition did not include the sacraments. I believe the sacraments are very important, but I do not see where Scripture uses the sacraments to define the church. Are the sacraments something that the church does? Yes. Do the sacraments define the church? No. Is a church still a church if it does not practice the sacraments? Yes. Does a group become a church because they practice the sacraments? No.

Am I correct? If not, why not? If so, then what is the purpose of the sacraments (or ordinances, if you prefer)? Also, if I am correct, have we diminished the true significance of the sacraments?

Usually, the “faculty lecture” involves reading (or presenting) a paper that the faculty member has recently written, perhaps specifically for this lecture. Dave didn’t read a paper. Instead, he used this opportunity to exhort the students and others in attendance to consider themselves full-time missionaries.

His “lecture” was called “Jesus the Model Missionary” (based in Matthew 9:35-38). Dave encouraged the students to use Jesus’ model in Matthew for their own model. They should go to the cities and the villages. They should teach, preach the gospel, and care for people’s needs.

Dave used his family’s experiences in Ethiopia (and other parts of the world) as examples. For those who have heard Dave and BeckyLynn Black speak about their service in Ethiopia, this lecture was nothing new. However, for those who still think of missionaries as a special class of Christians, perhaps Dave’s “lecture” encouraged them to see themselves as sent by God into the harvest fields.

From A. Amos Love’s submission:

This congregation of “Disciples of Christ,” “the ekklesia of God,” “ sons of God,” will;
Forsake all…
Love not the world…
Love not their own life…
Just want to know Him…
Count all things but dung…
Always take the lower place…
Make themselves of no reputation…

From Arthur Sido’s submission:

Scripture does not lay out a specific, liturgical schedule of events to govern the lives of believers nor is one desirable. All too often we have tried to push Scripture aside when it comes to the gathering of the New Covenant people as the church and replaced it with our own pragmatic solutions, rituals and traditions which may bring us comfort and a sense of being religious but bring little glory to God. Isn’t bringing glory to God what the gathering of the church is supposed to be about?

From Lew Ayotte’s submission:

When the Assembly of Christ is about building one another up, not dividing over leaders or denominations, focused on recognizing their own leaders, they will inherently be about fulfilling the Great Commission. In fact, I believe following Jesus’ command here may be like second nature to them. They will see the world through His eyes instead of their own. As the Assembly of Christ, reaching our neighbors will not be based on a program, chant, or weekly exercise… it will be according to Christ’s example. Each member in the assembly will recognize their responsibilities, although different, each one has an extremely important role.

From David Blanton’s submission:

Finally, a Jesus Christ ministry cannot help but look like Christ Jesus, the only mirror that is worth measuring itself against. What did the Good Samaritan look like? The parable never gave the listener a physical description because it wasn’t important. The only radical ministry is the one that has Christ Jesus as its center, who said to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself. If a ministry does that, then it cannot help but look like a Jesus Christ ministry. Does the ministry look forward or backward or does it abstain from the obtuseness of looking anywhere but its center?

From Lionel Woods’ submission:

When the disciples met with Christ, He was modeling community before them. They asked “where are you staying” and He answered “come and see”. From that day forward they lived in a community, sharing, eating, living amongst, and knowing one another. They would have looked at what we giggle at today as a cult. We think that type of life on life is appalling, idiotic, unnecessary, we believe that type of life is too radical, ridiculous, we cling on to our autonomy like it is a right, my friends it is not. We belong to a King. A King who has created us for this community a community to reflect who He is.

From James Lee’s submission:

This aptly demonstrates the need for our ministry to each other and provides a point of commonality that will equip us to be true salt and light in the world while loving each other. We cannot accomplish the tasks of discipleship and proclamation of the Gospel through political agendas, legislated morality, bully pulpits, and sectarian distinctions that scream we are right and you are wrong. We can only accomplish true ministry in this century through the power of Christ, His Holy Spirit, and a love for one another that strengthens us to face the enemy head on, and storm the gates of hell with the victory that was wrought in the spotless Lamb’s blood.

From Christopher Larson’s submission:

Such ministry will seek to avoid the two pitfalls of pragmatism on the one hand and self important hyper-spiritual perfection on the other. it will celebrate the freedom to do many things so that one thing might in the end be done, and it will celebrate all who share that calling as brothers and sisters in the ministry that takes many external forms, but in the end is one, (Pslam 119:63). Our goal will be to always ‘remember Jesus Christ’ in whatever form our work may take, and to know however difficult the path may seem He is Lord and He is not in chains, but freely working in and through us to bring forth a people for Himself, (2 Timothy 2:1-9).

I enjoyed all of the submissions. They all caused me to think about the church of Jesus Christ in the 21st century in different ways. I encourage you to read each of the essays.

The way that a person handles money says alot about their priorities. This is true for a group of people as well, including a church.

When we started meeting together several years ago, we handled money the way that most church organizations handle money. Everyone that was part of the church was asked to “give” through the church. The church created a budget that covered administrative costs, meeting locations costs, and ministry opportunities.

Over time, we found that our budget was directing our ability to serve more than the Spirit or the opportunities that God gave us was directing our service. So, a few years ago, we completely changed how we handle money.

To begin with, we still have a budget. Why? Because we have made certain corporate decisions as a group. For example, we’ve decided as a group to rent a place to meet. If we made the decision not to rent a place to meet and to forgo a few other administrative responsibilities, then I could see the possibility of having no corporate budget. But, at this time, we do have a budget.

So, since we have a budget, we still ask people to give to cover that budget. How much is that budget? Well, if you divide the budget between the people who meet together weekly, it amounts to less that $20 per person per month. That’s what we ask people to give “to the church” in order to cover corporate responsibilities.

Beyond this, we do not ask people to give money “to the church” – that is, to the church organization. However, we often ask people to give “to the church” – that is, to the people.

What do I mean? I mean that there are often needs or emergencies that come up among the believers that make up the church. The people involved have opportunities to let others know about their needs, and their brothers and sisters can then give to those needs, usually giving directly to the person or family in need.

Similarly, we often have service related needs. Again, when the church (that is, the people) are aware of those needs, they have the opportunity to give money, time, or other resources in order to help with those service needs.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that we are individualistic about the way we handle money. In fact, we often work together to take care of financial needs.

A couple that is part of our church is planning to move to Africa to work in Bible translation. Last Summer, they traveled to Africa for several weeks to work with the group that’s there and to learn more about what they will be doing in the future. They told the church about their financial needs for this trip, and the church helped them. How did this help come to them? It usually came from different families giving directly to this couple, as each family was able to give. Some gave more; some gave less. But, together, we helped this couple travel to Africa.

Several of us are praying about traveling to Ethiopia next Summer to work with the churches there. None of us can afford this trip on our own. But, when the church decides to send one or more of us on this trip, then the church will again take the responsibility of providing for their needs. How? Again, by each family giving as they are able.

We’ve found that by freeing people’s money from the constraints of an organizational budget, we are actually able to provide for more immediate needs as well as for larger and more long-term needs.

All in all, handling money in this way has helped us as we attempt to live life together as the church of Jesus Christ.

If you read Margaret’s interview, you’ll see that homeschool was a personal decision for us – a decision that we do not hold others to. It is possible for parents to raise their children properly in any type of educational environment.

First, I want to make clear that I am not talking about personal salvation. I am not asking if it is possible for God to remove salvation from someone. Instead, I’m asking if its possible for one group of people to cease to be God’s church. In fact, I would assume this would happen over time, not instantaneous, much like we see God removing his kingdom from one group – i.e. the Jews – and giving it to another group – i.e. the Jews that followed Jesus.

So, to answer my own question, I would say, “Yes, it is possible for God to remove his kingdom from one group.” In fact, I think we see Jesus warning about this very thing happening.

In Revelation, John records the following words of the risen Jesus:

To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’ (Revelation 2:1-7 ESV)

Notice that Jesus has several positive things to say about the church in Ephesus. They work hard; they are patient; they cannot stand evil; they test apostles and point out the ones who are false apostles; they have not grown weary; they hate the work of the Nicolaitans.

However, Jesus says that he has one thing against them: they have left their first love.

He says that if they do not repent of this one thing, “I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” Now, there is alot of symbolism in the book of Revelation, but we do not have to wonder what the lampstand symbolizes, because John has already told us: “As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” (Revelation 1:20 ESV)

So, the lampstand represent the church of Ephesus. Jesus warns the church at Ephesus that he will remove the church from them. Wow… this is a big deal… all because they turned away from their first love… even though they were working hard and standing up against evil and false teachers.

But, does this connect to what I said previously about God removing the kingdom from those who are disobedient and giving it to the remnant who remain obedient? Yes. Because some of the Ephesian Christians had a problem with love, and love is related to obedience.

John wrote elsewhere that Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) He also wrote, “Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.” (1 John 2:4 ESV)

John even tells us what he means by “keep his commandments”:

And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him… (1 John 3:23-24 ESV)

So, what does it mean to love God and keep his commandments? It means to believe in Jesus Christ and to love one another. In fact, if we do not demonstrate love to one another, then we can assume that we do not love God. Again, John writes:

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. (1 John 3:16-18 ESV)

So, Jesus warns the Ephesians that even though they think they love God (as demonstrated by the good things they were doing), they had actually lost their first love. More than likely, they had lost their love and concern for one another, given John’s understanding of loving God.

By failing to love others, John says that they are being disobedient – they are no longer “keeping his commandments.” Because of this, Jesus says that he will remove the church, unless they repent and become obedient by returning to this kind of love.

Now, I do not know what it would look like for God to “remove his lampstand,” but it seems to be a possible outcome, especially if the Ephesian church did not repent. We have to assume that it could also be a possibility today.

A church that ceases to love God by ceasing to love one another (regardless of how much truth they proclaim) could be in danger of having their “lampstand” removed. Why? Because just as in the case of the Old Testament, the kingdom is removed from those who are disobedient (failing to love others, according to John) and given to those who are obedient.