Looking More and More Like Community Everyday!

Our vision at BCC is to see a whole community united to build life around Jesus. Not united around our careers. Not united around our families. Not united around our hobbies. United to build life around Jesus.

As I discussed in our 5 part video series, community in America has been lost. Not overnight for sure but over time, and it is the challenge of the modern-day church to build community again- around Jesus.

It is my strong belief that the Holy Spirit is so often hindered from working among us today because of the way we live as Christians. We have adopted the American way of life just as much as anyone. We live isolated. We live exclusively independently not interdependently. We live out our Christian lives, but not together. We are individuals who inhabit buildings on Sundays, but we are generally not community. We are rarely community in the sense that the early church was community and we are rarely community in the same way the early Americans were community.

When we do not live communally the fruits of the Spirit have trouble growing. If I do not have a close body of people I can express love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control to- regularly- my fruit (good works) lose their power to impact others and the world around. That's the importance of a becoming a "city on a hill" not a "person on a hill" (see related blog post)

To rebuild community once it has been lost is difficult, but it is happening!

This past Sunday a woman approached me at church about whether I thought giving a monetary donation to a certain individual would be a good use of her money. She wanted to know if this person had been stewarding well what little he did have.

I assured her that I had confidence that he was stewarding well his finances. She proceeded to write a check to the church on behalf of this member and asked me if I could work out getting the money to him. I said "surely".

That evening after church as I was getting ready for bed I pulled out the check she had given me and about fell over. $1,000!

What awesome news I got to deliver on Monday morning to this struggling member. I think he almost had a heart attack when I told him how much another member of the church gave to him. He could not find the words to express his gratefulness to his anonymous giver.

Praise the Lord when the church acts like the church of Christ! Praise the Lord when the church fights to become community again! Though I see many ways in which BCC can grow to become more of what Christ intends us to be, I do believe we are looking more and more like genuine community everyday.

I believe the Holy Spirit worked on Sunday night and Monday and I am almost certain word has spread since then.

You can build Christ's Christian community again too. In fact if you are a Christian then that is your commission. Christ builds His church (Mt.16:16) but He has enlisted us to help. Building Christ's church starts by having the right vision for His church. If our vision for Christ's church is an exciting Sunday gathering then an exciting Sunday gathering is all it may become. But if our vision for Christ's church is the vision of the church we read about in the New Testament, then we will become more and more like that church even in the midst of all of our technological advances.

So first get the proper vision. Then team with other Christians of like mind to begin living out that vision incarnationally.

A New Church Forming At The Motel?

I think I have mentioned what is happening at the Farrington Inn in nearly every eNews I have sent in the past 6 months. But I must speak about it again; cool things are happening there!

This past week Reneh, Bruce, Joann and I sat in a circle, Bruce and Joann on the door step facing the street, Reneh and I in chairs on the sidewalk. We began our time together by asking what was new with everyone. “How’s the job search going? How are you feeling? How’s your family doing?” Our time is at ease. No rush. No time limit I have to be gone by, generally. We sit. We talk. We then get to the chosen passage for the day. Last week it was John 8- Jesus with the adulterous woman.

Great conversation ensued from here: “Where’s the adulterous guy in all of this?!” “Do you think she ever returned to her adultery after she met Jesus?” “What’s the best way to respond to grace?” “Are you anything like this woman…the Pharisees?” It was a great conversation.

Then came the off topic questions which can be expected from beginners to the Bible. I try to handle them briefly. I try not to dive into new topics quickly. Their questions are good and they inform me of what is really going on inside of them. But I have learned that it does no good to talk much about Avenue Q until you have driven on Avenues A-P first. “I heard the Bible says women are unclean when they have their period. It’s not their fault. What’s up with that?” “Whoa!” I said to myself, another day, another time! You can imagine how confusing that conversation might be if I tried to answer it. It was humorous!

But then came the best part of the day. Our discussion was through. Our hearts were lifted with thoughts of Jesus and I asked what we could pray about together. Reneh shared. Bruce shared. Joann shared. I even shared. Then as Joann was sharing her struggles Bruce offered comfort. Reneh offered understanding. I listened. Voicing the difficultly of having absolutely no family around Bruce replied to Joann, “Well you got us”. Joann leaned her head toward Bruce and innocently kissed his shoulder as if to say, “Thank you, I know”. Then we prayed.

I left there last Thursday thinking, “Once they decide to marry Jesus in baptism we have a new church at the motel! Praise the Lord. It’s a church that shares together, prays together, cries together, reads God’s Word together and together watches the Lord move among them and reach others.”

I am learning that this group at the motel may never attend BCC’s Sunday gatherings (although I desire they do, and keep inviting!). But they can still be the church together, where they are, under proper shepherding and move on from their temporary residences to build life around Jesus with other Christians.

Please continue to pray for this small group of people residing in a motel. May they choose Jesus soon.

Shaun