Day 12 – Connecting

"Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near."
Hebrews 10:22-25

Hi, my name is Chris, and I’m addicted to Heroes.

If you haven’t caught this show, you need to. It is one of the most original, fun, and addictive shows on television. The show tells the story of several people who thought they were like everyone else until they realized they have incredible abilities such as telepathy, time travel, flight and spontaneous regeneration. At first, they can’t control their powers very well, with some doing better than others. One by one they learn how to control these abilities and have to choose whether to use their powers for personal gain or for something bigger than themselves. Each of these people have a unique story, but feel as though they are supposed to do more than just get through this life without anyone catching on to their secret. Over time, they realize they have a role in preventing a major catastrophe and saving mankind from certain doom. They begin to find each other and eventually discover that they are most effective when they work together.

And that’s the church.

Because of what Jesus did for us, every single one of us have something amazing that has taken place within us, changing us into something else. If we have a relationship with Jesus, the Bible says that we have been raised from spiritual death to spiritual life. Also, God places His Spirit inside us as a seal of His promise not only to come for us one day, but also to empower us to live this life filled with joy, peace and faith in God. On top of all that, God has given each Christ follower spiritual gifts that enable to carry out their unique mission in this life. And if this is true about those who follow Jesus, then why are there so many Christians who don’t experience that power? Why are there so many Christians who have these incredible abilities and yet they choose to act like everybody else?

The answer is simple. Most Christians don’t realize that they are more effective when they are together.

In the passage above, the writer of Hebrews is imploring the followers of Christ to recognize the immense power found in community. “Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do” the writer says. But not just to say that we put in our time in the church house this week. He wants us to “think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.” Attending church is not about checking off a box to say that you go to church. It is about connecting with other followers who have the same Spirit living inside them, who are going through the same struggles you are going through and who need someone encouraging them to continue forward just as we need that same encouragement. In Christ, we are heroes! But our power and joy and peace in this life are only realized in full when we come together.

Let’s admit. Time is precious. But with so many “important” things that steal our time, and so many “priorities” that don’t really satisfy the deepest needs of our souls, shouldn’t we be most committed to the one entity on earth that God has set up to bring out the best of who we are?

Hi, my name is Chris, and I’m addicted to the Church!

As you pray, let these thoughts prompt your discussion with God.
Thank God for placing His Spirit inside you and ask Him to make you more aware of the Holy Spirit’s activity in your life.
Thank God that He has placed you in a church where you can be encouraged to become the person you were meant to be.
Ask God to help you understand how important the church really is in your life and in this world.
Commit to God that you will not give up meeting together, as so many are in the habit of doing.
Think about one person in your life who needs the community of faith and ask God for an opportunity to invite them to church with you on Sunday.
Think of someone in your life who needs you to motivate them to acts of love and good works and ask God to help you encourage them through a note, email or phone call.

Day 11 – Unification Theory

"The people 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."
Acts 2:42-47

I can remember serving on staff at a church in Gatesville, Texas. I was the youth pastor at the time and it was my first full time staff position since going into ministry, so I was very excited, naïve and full of hope for what God would do there. I remember talking with the people who attended the church and developing some great friendships with those people. There really wasn’t anyone in the church I didn’t like. Good, hard working people.

That’s why it surprised me a little – well, a lot – when the fighting began. It seemed subtle at first, but over time it became just downright mean. People began arguing over so many small and petty things. Then the name calling, bickering and backstabbing began. A lot of the conversation became focused around worship styles - hymns versus choruses - and eventually a faction of the church split off from the congregation and started their own church so they could “truly worship God.”

After a couple of years, I left that church to go attend seminary in Fort Worth. Over time, I discovered that a lot of churches fight over a lot of different things. Not every church, mind you. But more than one would think. It's kind of a sad irony when you think about it; the Church is the singular agent that God has sent to declare to the world that there is peace between God and man and the message keeps getting blurred by the lack of peace between the messengers.

I wish these unity challenged churches understood the principles in the passage above. The first thing that happened in the first century church after 3000 people committed their lives to Christ was these same people committing their lives to each other. They studied God’s Word together. They ate together. They prayed together. They took care of each other’s needs. And, as a result of their commitment to each other, they truly worshipped God and everyone around them couldn’t wait to be a part of their community.

I wonder what the world thinks about our churches today. Do they see a place where people are committed to each other – even the difficult people among us? Do they see an environment where people are sensitive to each others’ needs and aren’t just focused on their own needs? Do they have a sense that these people would do anything for each other and that they just love being around each other? If they did, it seems as though we would see a lot more people wanting to be a part of the church. It would make sense that there would be more people being added to the church’s numbers who were committing their lives to Christ because they had to be a part of this community of givers and servants.

We can do something about it. We can revolutionize how the world defines “church.” We can be a part of the movement that restores this sense of Biblical community to the world’s eyes – at least to Austin’s eyes. So much so that they cannot fathom not getting involved in this amazing group of Christ followers. We can be the most loving, giving, caring community of people they have ever seen.

Not only can we do this, we must do this. Not just for the world’s sake, but for our own.

Scripture is filled with admonitions and commands for God’s people to be unified at all costs. We can’t allow even a hint of disunity to exist among us. It begins with you and me. We must set the bar of unity high and guard that bar with everything we have. Together we can redefine “church” for the city of Austin and beyond.

Together.

As you pray, allow these prompters to facilitate your interaction with God.

• Thank God that He did everything necessary for you to be united with Him through Jesus’ death on the cross.
• Thank God that He does nothing that would lead people towards disunity.
• Ask God to give you wisdom as to whether or not you need to make any relationships right that may be fractured.
• Ask God to help you to be a unifying force in the Body of Christ, a guardian of the standard of unity, and a champion for your brothers and sisters in Christ.
• Ask God that our church would be a part of redefining “church” for the city of Austin and beyond.