“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26)
“Jesus went into the hills and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him”
(Mark 3:13)
“Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name-the name you gave me-so that they may be one as we are one…”(John 17:11b)
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: 10If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! 11Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? 12Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
(Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)
The chief executive of a large and successful chain of stores made a striking statement about the future of his company. He said that a hundred years from now it would be either greatly changed or nonexistent.1 The same can be said about any church. If a church fails to change with the times, it will become irrelevant to the people it is working so hard to reach. Because of this truth, the ministry staff of Marysville First Assembly is committed to helping people establish life-changing relationships in the body of Christ.
Marysville First is making a bold declaration: God wants us to become a church where No One Stands Alone. This phrase is not original with us. It was coined by Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago. To pull this off, the ministry staff will have to establish a place where real fellowship is experienced. Now when you talk about fellowship, you are almost always referring to food, socializing, and superficial conversation. Have you ever been asked the question, “Where do you fellowship?” which translated means, “Where do you go to church?”
As a kid in a Baptist church, once a month after the morning service we had a fellowship hour. The congregation would immediately retire to the basement fellowship hall (there’s that word again), a room used for talking and eating, for cookies and conversation. When you’re twelve, you’re mostly interested in the cookies. The fellowship hour was really an invitation to stay after church for refreshments.
If you want to experience the genuine thing when it comes to fellowship, you have to be committed to fulfilling four qualities of real life together: mutual effort, mutual support, mutual encouragement, and mutual strength. Each of these qualities is found in the fourth chapter of Ecclesiastes; we’ll visit them a little later.
The Bible teaches us that the rhythm of a believer’s life should flow back and forth between the temple courts and meeting house-to-house.
“Everyday they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” (Acts 2:46 - NIV)
This verse reminds us that we worship with a crowd, but we fellowship with a group. Say that with me - we worship with a crowd, but we fellowship with a group. This is a critical insight. Some believers go their whole lives and never learn this principle. When it comes to worship, size is important; the larger the crowd the greater the potential for sensing the presence of God. Have you noticed how wonderful it is to worship in a packed house? All the voices lifted heavenward to the Almighty. It sends chills down your spine. You stand in awe! You hope the moment never ends. Wouldn’t it be great if we could take this with us all week?
But when it comes to fellowship and building community, small is best. It is impossible to experience true community in a crowd. Relationships break down in a crowd. A crowd is not a congregation. An audience is not an army. You were created by God to move from a crowd to a community. This community is often called a small group - a Sunday school class, a fellowship group, a Bible study, a prayer group, or a support group. This is where real fellowship takes place, not in large church services.
Jesus went back and forth between the crowd and the small group. He limited the number to 12. You see, once a group gets larger than 10, several social dynamics take over. First, strong leaders start to dominate. Second, quiet and shy people shut down. Finally, the tension to stay casual gives way to the desire to be religious and church-like.
God has great blessings that are released to you when you participate in a small group setting:
“And when two or three of you are gathered together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.” (Matthew 18:20 - MSG)
Unfortunately, being involved with a small group is no guarantee that you will experience real fellowship. Many Christian groups are crusted over, stuck in a world of superficiality, and lack genuine shepherding care.
For the last nine months, the ministry staff has been asking the question, “What would God have us look like if we got serious about becoming a place where No One Stands Alone? This season of ministry is called United Purpose. This is not a fad, this is a foundation in how we relate and grow. We are building a God inspired dream, and a God inspired team for a United Purpose. What is that purpose? Having a place Where No One Stands Alone - Small Groups.
Our Goal: To have a place where everyone has an opportunity to experience life-transforming relationships. We are convinced this is God’s will for His Church at Marysville for three reasons:
1. A Scriptural Reason: God has always existed as part of a small group.
2. An Experiential Reason: You were created for relationship.
3. A Leadership Reason: In order to grow and provide care, the church must have an abundance of leaders.
It is the scriptural reason that we will zero in on today.
God exists in and for community (Genesis 1:26)
You don’t have to travel far down the road of scripture, before you see that community to God is part of His identity. In thirteen words, Genesis 1:26, the NIV Bible reminds us of God’s unique nature. On three occasions we see the words, us and our. Two doctrines of the church are foundational to knowing God. The first: God is one: Here, O, Israel, the Lord our God is one Deuteronomy 6:4-NIV). This called the Shema, it daily reminds God’s chosen nation of the singularity of His nature.
The second: God is not only one He is also defined through His plurality. It is in the creation account that we peek into the window of the communal nature of God. And don’t forget, it is in this nature that you were created. Gathered for all of eternity, the Trinity did nothing apart from agreement, relationship, and unity. As they created you, they placed within you a DNA with the same characteristics that exist in the Trinity. That DNA is a community, fellowship, or relational image-bearing stamp. We must go from saying that God is interested in your relationships with others to the place where we say He will be enjoyed through the life exchange you have with others. This is so important to God that He would put over 50 “one-another” commands in the Bible. Listen to a sampling.
· Bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2)
· Be kind to one another (Ephesians 4:32)
· Exhort one another daily (Hebrews 3:13 NKJV)
· By love serve one another (Galatians 5:13)
· Forgiving one another (Colossians 3:13)
· Give honor to one anther (Romans 12:10)
Relationship, support, and encouragement are enjoyed when a believer learns of their responsibility to “one another.” It is only through small groups that we come to learn of one another’s needs.
Jesus builds maturity through small groups (Mark 3:7)
Have you ever noticed how Jesus moved freely back and forth between the crowd and his small group of disciples?
Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. (Mark 3:7)
Have you ever noticed how impressed we are with bigness? Bigness has become the ultimate value statement for success. When some people get around a crowd, all they can think about is how they can leverage the crowd for their benefit, as one author said. Pastors are guilty of this disease; I am guilty of interpreting a large audience as a sign of God’s blessing and anointing. This happens every Easter in churches across the land. When large crowds show up, it is easy to start thinking in terms of market share, expansion to radio and television, or even start a building program.
Jesus never seized the moment with a crowd to step up publicity or use it as a national platform for politics or media. He did the opposite. He shut the crowd down. He pulled away. He knew the masses had needs, and He would often care for those needs. It is clear, though, that Jesus spent the lion’s share of his time and energies with His disciples. Jesus spent most of His public ministry in a small group. Look at God’s word. Except for the Sermon on the Mount, the greatest percentage of Kingdom Truth was taught in a boat, along the road, on a hill, or in a home. As Russ Robinson says, “He drew away from the many, then selected a few to reach the many.”2 Jesus gathered a few to Himself so He could transform the lives of many others. “Jesus invested 90 percent of his time with 12 Jewish men so that he could reach all Americans,”3 as Eugene Peterson, the author of the Message Bible, says.
It was often in these small groups that Jesus taught some of his most profound truths about servanthood, leadership, priorities, and faith. Most of your life is lived in a small group - family, recreation, work, and ministry.
Jesus asked questions in small groups: Who do men say that I am? (Matthew 16:13) He rebuked and corrected in small groups: Unless I wash you [your feet] you have no part with me. (John 13:8)
It was the Master’s plan to invest in a few. It still works today. Churches that follow this principle multiply the work of God much more effectively than trying to build program-driven churches.
Christians are unified through relationships (John 17:11)
The last words of a dying soul carry the greatest weight. We press in to hear and remember them. Jesus provides us with a glimpse of God’s heart in His final High Priestly Prayer. First protect them, then unify them. Look closely. You can’t miss it.
“…Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name - the name you gave me - so that they may be one as we are one.” (John 17:11)
Jesus knows that in just a few hours the gig is up. He is about to say good-bye. He has one last request. When you listen to a person speak you remember three things: the first thing said, something unusual, and the last thing said. Here it is - the last prayer prayed. It is here that we get a clue as to what is really important to God. Death is inevitable, unless there’s a last minute stay of execution. Recorded for all of eternity is the dialogue Jesus had with His Father. And it is here He includes this important element of life we call community.
On this final night of His earthly life, Jesus asks God for one request: help these in whom I have invested to become one team, with one dream. If Jesus had asked the disciples for prayer requests in that final hour, here is what it might have sounded like:
Hey, we’ve given up so much - don’t forget our place.
If, you’re going to leave us alone, how about knocking off Rome before you go!
It looks like our little team is disbanded; could you get us some good fishing weather?
So what was on the heart of Jesus? Community; a deep-seated commitment to unity. Going all the way with oneness. It was the last thing on their minds. And the last thing that Jesus left.
Let’s not settle for the cheap imitation of fellowship that so many think is the real thing. This scares the fire out of some of you. That’s why you play your cards so close to your vest. You think that if people get to know you they will reject you. What a bold-faced lie from Satan. God suggests the opposite. That when people get to know the real you, they will become so interested that you can’t pry them away from you - broken life and all.
Marysville First Assembly, will you sell God’s desire for community on the altar of a half-price sale at the thrift store of relationship? Or are you ready to be a biblically functioning community of Christ followers. I don’t know what it is going to take or cost to make this happen, but I am willing to wrestle through the issues with God until he touches my hip and changes my name. I want an encounter with God that will change me forever. The Great Revival that God has for our church is a revival of commitment to over 50 “one-another” declarations about how we fit together.
So how are people going to get into small groups? Are we going to place them in groups? No, we are going to love them into the groups.
He was handicapped and he knocked over a rack of shoes at Nordstrom’s. The manager of the store became irate. It was opening day. The crowds were large. The owners were in the store. The manager stared for a moment, then curtly said, “Get him to pick them up.” The boy froze. The sister paused. The nearby shoppers were stunned. Without notice, the sister fell to her knees and began to pick up the shoes and place them back on the rack. It wasn’t long before her handicapped brother joined her. Within minutes they both had put all the shoes away. As she stood lifting her brother to his feet, she turned to the store manager and said, “Mister, you’ve got to love him into it.”4
Church family, let’s love people into a revival of deep and meaningful community.
End Notes
(1)David McCasland. Our Daily Bread. 2003 RBC Ministries, Oct. 17, 2003.
(2)Bill Donohue and Russ Robinson. Building A Church of Small Groups. Zondervan Publishing, Grand Rapids, Michigan, pg. 26, 2001.
(3)Ibid, pg. 26.
(4)Dale Galloway. Making The Small Group Transition, Enrichment Magazine. Springfield, Mo., Spring 1988, pg. 15-16.
