This description of the early church is truly amazing. Something had happened to these otherwise ordinary people. The people who were a part of this church no longer thought of themselves — their own rights and possessions — their whole identity was a group identity. They found their meaning and identity in each other rather than their individual selves. They realized that they were a part of something bigger than themselves. They were connected.
Did you ever play connect the dots when you were a child? Do you remember the coloring books where there might be a few lines and then just a bunch of dots? It wouldn’t look like anything until you began to connect the dots, and then a picture began to appear. That’s what we want to do today. We want to connect the dots so that we get the bigger picture of what it takes to be a church. We want to get connected. We get the picture when we begin to be connected to God and to his people. And when we are all connected to each other, then a picture begins to appear — and it is the face of Christ. When we get connected with each other we also connect the dots for the world and they begin to see God.
Dr. Edward Hallowell has written a book simply called Connect. In it he says, “We are a nation of doers. We hurry from place to place, filling our lives with all kinds of activities, sometimes over-scheduling our kids and ourselves. But what really sustains us emotionally, psychologically and physically is connectedness, the feeling that we are part of something that matters, something larger than ourselves that gives life meaning. Just as there is a vitamin deficiency, there is a human contact deficiency and it weakens the body, the mind and the spirit. Its ravages can be severe — depression, physical illness, early death. Or they can be mild — underachievement, fatigue, and loneliness. Just as we need Vitamin C each day, we also need a dose of human contact everyday with other people.”
This church exists to connect people to God and each other. That is why we changed the name of our Wednesday small groups to Wednesday Connection. But even though we may have a few hundred people here on a typical Sunday, not all of us are connected. Some are merely observers. You are a part of the worship, but you don’t know many other people, because you are not in a small group or you don’t participate in one of the outreach ministries. You need that connection. This church is not a place to attend, it is a family to become connected to. If you want to be spiritually and emotionally healthy you need to actually be connected to this family.
As I read the second chapter of Acts I was enormously impressed by the connectedness of the church. I noticed four things about that church. The first thing it says about them is: They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching. In other words, they devoted themselves to learning. They wanted to know more about God and his Son Jesus Christ. They wanted to know how God wanted them to live and what they should be doing. They wanted to know more about Christ and how he reflected the heart and character of God. It was not a chore for them to learn, they were fascinated by these new truths and couldn’t seem to get enough. They were committed to learning.
This is one of the signs of a healthy church and a healthy Christian — a commitment to learning the Word of God and growing in our knowledge of him. Growing Christians are in the Word and any other books or material that will help them understand the Christian life more deeply. Learning is an important part of the Christian life. When you get to the place where you think you know all you need to know or want to know, then you are in trouble. When you stop learning you stop growing, and when you stop growing you become spiritually stagnant.
David Gibson from Idaho tells this story: “My friend bought a 19-foot jet boat and invited me along for her maiden voyage. We put the boat in the North Fork of the Snake River. The water was low because of a drought. My friend eased the throttle up until we were racing across the surface at 35 m.p.h. Suddenly we hit a sandbar, and the boat stopped. We stepped out, into one inch of water. Another boater came along, and after three hours of digging and pushing, we freed our boat. Our rescuer knew the river well and offered to lead us to the landing. ‘Follow exactly behind me,’ he said, ‘to avoid hidden obstacles.’ We fell in line, skimming the water at 35 m.p.h. Then, my friend steered just a few feet to the right of the lead boat’s path. In seconds we hit a gravel bar, and I was thrown into the windshield. When he returned, the lead driver said, ‘I told you to follow me.’” But his friend thought that he should be able to do it on his own without any advise or help from anyone else. It was a hard lesson to learn, and he learned it the hard way.
The author of Hebrews complained about the people to whom he was writing: “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food ” (Hebrews 5:11-12). Being committed to learning means that we are willing to listen to people who know the path and know where the obstacles are. They have been there before. It takes a little humility and a teachable spirit to be a learner.
The second thing that the early Christians did was: They devoted themselves to the fellowship. This translates into worship. They met together to worship. They did not live under the illusion that they could privatize their faith and be individual Christians with no connection. They had their times during the week of individual study and worship, but they understood that it was no substitute for being with other people who loved God, and worshiping with them. They knew that God met them in a special way when they were together with other Christians.
I have often thought of the words Jesus spoke: “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20). Jesus was saying that when we meet together for worship he is with us in a special sense in which he is not with us when we are alone. It is important to be together. We need each other, and God’s presence is with us in a powerful way when we worship with each other. That is why the Bible says, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25).
When I go camping I love to build a campfire. There is nothing better than to be camped beside a wilderness lake with a campfire. Better yet, to cook a meal over that fire. One of the things you learn is that you have to put the sticks or logs close together if the fire is going to keep going. Even if every piece of wood is blazing, if you separate them from each other, they will lose their flame and quickly go out. You may be on fire for Christ, but if you are trying to be on fire by yourself you will burn out. You need others close to you to keep the fire going. And you need to stay close to them. You need to be committed to the fellowship and being together in worship.
The third thing that the early Christians did was: They devoted themselves to breaking bread. Here is the importance of Christian friendship. This is so important because it means that they were together for more than just spiritual things. They enjoyed each other’s company. They were devoted to the things that deepened their friendship with each other. It says in the book of Acts: “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” (Acts 2:46). These Christians were the kind of people that when everyone else walks out of your life, they walk into it. That is what we want to be. That is why when you enter this place you feel a charge, because not only is the Holy Spirit present, but there is genuine love and deep relationships among us.
This is why we started the Tables of Grace ministry. It is essentially a ministry to ourselves. We are committed to deepening our relationships with each other. If we don’t take care of each other, we will not be able to take care of anyone else. Some churches never get beyond being friends with each other. They are such good friends that it feels like everyone else is an outsider and it is difficult to break in. At this church, we could have the opposite problem. It is possible to be so busy ministering and reaching out to others that we do not take the time to minister and reach out to each other.
This is another reason why our Sunday School classes and small groups are so important. We are not only learning about spiritual things together, but we are listening to each other, encouraging each other, supporting each other, praying for each other, loving each other. It is in these groups where we become open and honest with each other so that we don’t become phoneys. We want to be genuine and authentic. We want to be honest about our struggles. If not, people are going to feel like they have to wear a mask, and that they have problems that other people don’t have. This is why we have people give their testimonies. You can see someone in church and think that they have it all together and never struggled with the things you struggle with. But when they tell their story, you realize that they have been where you were. And you learn how they overcame their past and their problems to be a fully devoted follower of Christ.
When John Noonan was injured in a bike accident yesterday I saw this church in action. The first thing he did was make his way to Adam and Jessica Booth’s house — and how he did that I will never know. Several of us men were in our Saturday morning discipleship group when we heard about it, and we stopped immediately and prayed for John. People stepped in to take care of the children. As I went to the hospital it was not long until Linda and Eli were there. Linda went to the Noonan house and did her dishes. People all over the church were praying and were already talking about preparing meals for the family when they came home. As I drove Tonya to Columbus to the hospital I said to her: “What do people do who do not have the Lord in a situation like this, and what do they do if they do not have a church family?” She shook her head and said, “I really don’t know.” All their family lives away and we are their family — a family for which they are very grateful. It is important to continue to devote ourselves to these friendships.
The final thing that the early Christians did was: They devoted themselves to prayer. They prayed when they were alone. They prayed with their families. They prayed together in prayer meetings. It was the source of their power — and very powerful things happened among them because they prayed. Without this all the other things they did would mean nothing. You can study, worship and develop close relationships with other Christians, but if you do not pray, the rest will fall apart. You need a consistent prayer life. This is where you develop your spiritual life. It is where you come into contact with the Spirit of God. As I read through the book of Acts I was impressed about how many times it talked about God’s people praying.
I believe in the power of prayer. The Bible says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16). We have seen many, many things happen in this church as a result of prayer. People have been helped and healed. Problems have been solved. People have come to Christ and grown spiritually. Look at the ministries that have exploded here. All of this is a result of people who have prayed. At one time we specifically prayed that God would give us more musicians and singers. God has wonderfully answered that prayer as you know.
We have a small prayer group which meets on Sunday evenings from the Fall through Spring. I can remember when we began to pray several years ago for three things: 1. A spiritual hunger among the people of the church. 2. A desire among God’s people to see other people come to Christ. 3. A willingness to be involved in ministry. We have seen that prayer answered wonderfully. The group that meets on Sunday evenings is a faithful group, but it is small. When we begin to meet in the Fall again, we need more people to join us. It is important for us to pray together for the Kingdom of God to grow among us.
We also have a group that meets on Tuesdays at noon the year round. It is a group that prays for a spiritual awakening in our community, and it is made up of people from several different churches. We have a core group of committed people who pray, but we need more prayer power. Prayer is the force that moves the hand of God and thereby moves the world.
It is in your private prayer time that you focus on someone beside yourself. It is getting in touch with a power that is beyond yourself. It is where you empty yourself of yourself and are filled with the Spirit of God. Without that time of prayer, you are trying to run on empty. Is it any wonder that you are struggling when you have never prayed about the situation you are facing and never taken the time to soak in the presence of God?
I will tell you that the more we become devoted to the things to which the early church was committed, there will be a new dimension to our lives and to our church. As we become more devoted to learning, worshiping together, our relationships and prayer, we and the church will become more of what God is calling us to be. When we stop living only for ourselves and start living for God and others we will discover what it takes to be God’s people.
Brian Bill relates this story: “A few years ago at the Seattle Special Olympics, 9 contestants, all physically or mentally challenged, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash. At the gun, the contestants all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a relish to run the race to the finish and win. All, that is, except one boy who stumbled on the track, tripped, rolled over a couple times and began to cry. The others, who were running ahead of the boy, heard him crying so they slowed down and looked back at him. Then they all turned around and went back. Every one of them. One girl with Down’s Syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, ‘This will make it better.’ Then all 9 linked arms and walked together to the finish line. Everyone in the stadium stood and cheered for over 10 minutes. People who were there still talk about what happened. Why? Because deep down — we know this one thing: What matters in this life is more than winning for ourselves. What truly matters is helping others win.”
Rodney J. Buchanan
July 11, 2004
Mulberry St. UMC
Mt. Vernon, OH
www.MulberryUMC.org
Rod.Buchanan@MulberryUMC.org
