Why Church?
Ephesians 4:11-16
George Barna is a demographer and social scientist who does surveys for major corporations like Disney and Visa but also spends a good portion of his profits studying faith trends in the US and the impact the church is having for Jesus Christ. In his book, Revolution, he shares some of his latest findings which he calls radical and predicts will reshape the church. He has discovered that more than 30 million Americans are what he calls revolutionaries. They are passionate, committed Christians with high expectations of themselves, other believers and the church. They want more of God in their lives and are doing whatever it takes to make it happen. They are returning to a first century lifestyle based on faith, love, goodness, generosity, kindness and simplicity. They seek a more robust faith, one which prioritizes transformation in every aspect of their lives. As a result they have no patience or time for churches which are not making an impact for the kingdom, do not hold their members to the high standards and calling of Jesus Christ and are content with passive recipients rather than active participants as members. Thus, the vast majority of revolutionaries have left the church because they do not see it adding to their spiritual journey or their relationship to God. A CNN found in a survey a couple of years ago that found that 5 out of six Americans do not believe the church is needed to grow spiritually or to be close to God. This fits into the predominant American attitude which says that faith is a private matter and your relationship to God is an individual endeavor.
Yet this misses a fundamental fact of life: You and I were created for relationships. Let’s face it … relationships are a big deal to all of us. In fact, most problems in our lives are the result of some relationship problem, either with a spouse, a parent, a friend, a child, a coworker, or a boss. Most problems in life are relational problems. Why? Because relationships are at the center of our lives. That’s how we’re wired and created. We were created for relationships. We need one aoother for our mental, emotional and spiritual growth. God said in the Garden of Eden, “It is not good for man to be alone.” Rick Warren put it this way, “We are created for community, fashioned for fellowship and formed for family, and none of us can fulfill God’s purposes by ourselves.” We were never meant to live this life or be in relationship with God apart from other believers. Why church? We need relationships but not just emotional or physical relationships but spiritual relationships as well.
The problem is most of us believe that your relationship to Jesus is personal, but it was never meant to be private. Our faith in the same God and Savior connects us to one another. Paul uses the analogy of the body to describe this connection when he talks about the body of Christ in our Scripture today. “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.” The foot cannot say to the eye, I don’t need you and the hand cannot say to the heart I don’t need you. We need one another for our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual growth. Paul put it this way, “…you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” 1 Cor. 12:12-27 And where is all this connectedness and relationship supposed to happen? The church. From the beginning, Jesus showed us that our faith is meant to be lived out in community. That’s why he chose 12 disciples with whom to share life and as well as faith and service. No one can do it alone.
Now there are five things being a part of church allows us to do which we can’t do on our own in the same way. The first is fellowship. Fellowship is more than casual conversation, potluck dinners and having fun together. New Testament fellowship is sharing life together, the pain, disappointments and frustrations of life as well as the joys, successes and laughter of life, all in the context of faith in Jesus. We need fellowship to survive and be enriched. Studies have found that babies in orphanages who are not held or given individual attention shrivel up and die and the ones which did survive are developmentally impaired. We need fellowship to grow spiritually, mentally, physically and emotionally. We are a product of the environment we grow up in. How do we learn and grow and to become mature? We do so through communities that challenge us in loving and caring relationships.
Life without relationships is meaningless but life lived in the midst of relationships is rich and meaningful. It is in these relationships that we learn to love. Left to our own devices we would either stay to ourselves and focus only on us or we would connect with people just like us, with similar beliefs, opinions, personalities and interests to our own. Jesus said, “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Yet it’s not just about loving people like us but loving everyone in the name of Christ. Jesus went on to say, “"You have heard that it was said, ’Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” While we don’t consider brothers and sisters in the church to be enemies, our church is diverse enough that there are people different from us and it is here because of our spiritual connection to one another that we learn to love them. If it were not because of that spiritual connection we have to one another as the body of Christ, we would do what we do in every other relationship in life when it turns south: leave. The church is meant to be a community of love and thus becomes the classroom to learn to love others as Christ loved, even the unlovable. It is this love which defines the church and set us apart from every other organization in our community. Jesus said, “Your love for one other will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” We do this because we have first been loved by God through Jesus.
Second, the church is for communion. Anthropologists have noted that the history of man has proven we have an innate need to worship, a desire to connect with God. Worship is not about having our needs met, it is about giving ourselves to someone or something else. No matter who you are, you’re going to give yourself to someone or something, the only question is to what? Now when we talk about worship, there are two different types: personal and corporate. Many people believe you can replace one with the other and nothing could be further from the truth. We need both types of worship. You need to worship God individually, times when you meditate on God and his word or you sing his praises using worship CD’s. But you also need to worship God weekly. In fact, many of us forget that this is the fourth commandment, to keep the Sabbath holy by worshipping God, studying his word and reflecting on his nature. You’ve heard people say, I can worship God anywhere on Sunday, it doesn’t have to be at church. But you can have 200 individuals worshipping God in separate parts of Fountainbleau State Park and it not be the same experience as 200 people gathered in worship singing God’s praises.
Can I tell you about one of my favorite times each year? At Annual Conference, the statewide meeting of all UM pastors and lay representatives from each congregation, the pastors break away on the first day to deal with issues only ministers can vote on, primarily matters of ordination. We gather in the chapel at Centenary College and open with a time of worship. Roughly 350 men and 100 women sing the great hymns of the faith, lifting God up and offering him our worship. Our voices echo off the walls and the arched plaster ceiling. You can not only hear it but you feel it and I experience the presence of God in the company and fellowship of 450 other people who have given their lives to God and are once again recognizing God for who He is and giving themselves to him in worship . We are connected professionally but in that moment we are also connected through our worship. And God makes his presence known and felt by all gathered there. God ministers to us in that moment, connects with us and recharges our emotional, physical and spiritual batteries as we are united in our worship of the one true living God. That cannot happen in individual worship, only when we gather for corporate worship. The church provides the venue whereby God can inhabits His people’s praises.
Third, the church provides love, concern and care during the difficult times of life. All of us have difficult times in life, times when we need a friend, a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen or a heart to be sympathetic. The church is meant to be the expression of Christ’s love and compassion for others. You’ve got 1 pastor here with a congregation of about 170 people adults. I cannot pastor every one in this church. If I was to try, I would have to limit my time to about 8 minutes per person each week (and that isn’t even allowing for travel time). Can you imagine how much support and concern I’d be able to show in just 8 minutes. There’s simply no way that you can be fully cared for, helped, discipled, and encouraged in your spiritual journey unless you’re part of a small group. As a pastor, I can come give a message and try my very best to help you spiritually and teach you the Bible every week. Image of small groups Bible study. But when you’re in a small group, now all of a sudden you’re connected with a small group of other Christians who can share your struggles and your triumphs. They become your immediate spiritual family who nurture and care for you. They can listen to your concerns, counsel you, be with you and pray with you. And this is why we are putting so much emphasis of starting small group Bible studies this year.
We recognize that pastorally, our church has grown to such a size that it is impossible for a pastor to care for everyone else. We need to return to the Early church model where the care and the support was primarily provided by each member. Slide: Acts 2:42 says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
Maxie Dunnam tells the story of Bob, a church member in a terrible car accident and was clinging to life. When Maxie arrived at the hospital, he walked down the hallway to Bob’s room and saw several of the man’s small group members outside the door. He greeted them and they told him the latest news. Several had just left to go pick up the man’s children as school let out. They had called another member of the group who was now busy cooking dinner for the family. Some of the teenagers were going to take turns babysitting and put the kids to bed. Another member was goig to sleep at Bob’s house so Bob’s wife could stay at the hospital with him. She would get the kids ready for school and then take them there. Amazed at how much they had been able to accomplish in such a short time, Maxie walked into the Bob’s room only to see his bed surrounded by still more of Bob’s small group. They talked for awhile and then Maxie offered to pray. Bob’s wife said, Sure if you would like, but our small group had just finished praying for us. Maxie said, At that moment I felt pretty useless. I was the pastor for goodness sakes. He prayed and then said his goodbyes But then as he walked out of the room, he realized he wasn’t useless at all for these people were just being the church for Bob and his family, just as God intended. If you’re not in a small group, I encourage you to prayerfully consider it. That is where you will find real care and love. We’d love to get you connected so you can be cared for.
Fourth, the church provides an opportunity to serve God and experience his totality. Ephesians 4: 11 speaks of different gifts “Christ himself gave apostles (someone who will have influence beyond their immediate community of faith), prophets (the gift of moving people forward), evangelists (the gift of easily sharing the Gospel and helping people to connect to God), pastors (the gift of spiritually and emotionally caring for others. Not all pastors of churches have this gift. I don’t have this gift. This is why no one of us has all the gifts and why all the gifts are distributed throughout the church.) and teaching (you are able to explain the Scriptures and make the complex things of God clear to others and help them to understand God, their faith and how to apply God‘s teachings to their lives). The reason God has given these gifts is to equip his people for works of service in the name of his Son. That’s why you are here, not to be served or inspired but to come so that together we might be equipped to make a kingdom impact “So that the body of Christ might be built up until we all reach unity in the church” not that we will all think alike but that we will all be one in affirmation of Jesus as Lord and Savior and in working for His purpose and goals. From Him the whole body is joined and held together by every adjoining part and it rolls and wills itself up in love as each part or person does his work. You are either a passive recipient or active participant.
The church is the active community where we can connect to the presence of Christ and the power of Christ in all it’s fullness in a way we can like no other. God revealed the totality of who He was in this man called Jesus Christ. So Jesus when he walked the earth contained within himself all of the character of God and all of the power or gift mix of God. Since God is the Creator, Jesus showed his power over all creation. When he told the water to calm it did. And since God is the giver of all life and all life eventually dies, Jesus showed his power over death by calling Lazarus out of the tomb. Jesus in his life and ministry not only showed the power of God but also all of the gifts of God. Now when Jesus was resurrected and ascended into heaven, God returned in the form of the Holy Spirit. It is from this Spirit that all spiritual gifts of God come. Now God reveals the totality of himself not through any single human being but through this community of faith we call the body of Christ. In other words, there is nowhere and nothing else where you can experience the totality of God. So when I am born again in Jesus Christ, I am born into the family of God and his body, which is the church. For me to experience the fullness of God, I can’t do that on my own but only in the body of Christ. I have the spiritual gift of teaching and leadership. But if I need healing in my life I cannot manifest that on my own but only through someone else who has the gift of healing which is through the body of Christ. Or if I need spiritual guidance, I can’t just go to the bible but need someone who has the gift of shepherding. Someone may ask, “How do you hear the voice of God?” I have never heard the voice of God and the words, “TIM, LISTEN CLOSELY, THIS IS WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO.” Instead, I have heard the voice of God most profoundly through the flow of the Holy Spirit working in the life of this family of faith. Why? Because it is the community through which we experience the fullness of God’s presence and power.
Fifth, the church provides opportunity for spiritual growth. Why church? Because God wants us to grow up into maturity and no one can do that alone. You can be a self made millionaire but you cannot be a self made mature disciple of Christ. That can only happen in the context of the body of Christ, worshipping together, being in relationship through good and bad together, studing God’s word together and service Jesus together.
One of the biggest times of growth in a person’s life is when they go off to school. Before that, they were completely dependent on the parents and most of the socializing was with mom and dad and your siblings. But suddenly you’re put in this new environment and have to learn new rules and how to act, when to sleep, when to eat and when to go to the bathroom. And suddenly they start placing responsibility on you like no talking in lines, throw all your trash away after lunch, remember to take your homework home and do it and play nice together. It seems like everyday, they do something new. All this is meant to prepare you for life and help you reach your potential. And if you quit school or drop out, you limit your potential and the scope and influence of your life and your earning power. We grow in the knowledge and power of God through the progressive participation in the body of Christ and if you quit, what happens? You limit your potential and the scope of your influence. And the spiritual power of your life is dramatically reduced. The problem is that most people in church have never gotten past elementary school when it comes to spiritual matters. That’s why study after study shows most Christians are Biblically illiterate, that is, they don’t know what’s in God’s manual of life nor do they understand it. And if they don’t, then they can’t live the life God intended or grow into the person God envisioned when he created you. People drop out of church because they have bought into this lie which says, you can do it by yourselves.
Image of geese flying in V formation. Church Swindoll writes, It’s those stately geese I find especially impressive. Winging their way to a warmer climate, they often cover thousands of miles before reaching their destination. Have you ever studied why they fly as they do? It is fascinating to read what has been discovered about their flight pattern as well as their in-flight habits. Four come to mind.
1. Those in front rotate their leadership. When one lead goose gets tired, it changes places with one in the wing of the V-formation and another flies point.
2. When one goose gets sick or wounded, two fall out of formation with it and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with the struggler until it’s able to fly again.
3. The geese in the rear of the formation are the ones who do the honking. The repeated honks encourage those in front to stay at it.
4. By flying as they do, the members of the flock create an upward air current for one another. Each flap of the wings literally creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. One author states that by flying in a V-formation, the whole flock gets 71 percent greater flying range than if each goose flew on its own. When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front of it.
As I think about all this, one lesson stands out above all others: it is the natural instinct of geese to work together. Whether it’s rotating, flapping, helping, or simply honking, the flock is in it together...which enables them to accomplish what they set out to do.
