Chapter 20
HIS CHURCH FOR YOUR BELONGING
And he is the head of the body, the church.
COLOSSIANS 1:18 NIV
88 What Church Is About
The Pew Research Center determined the following top ten reasons Americans attend church services1:
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To become closer to God (81%)
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To give their children a moral foundation (69%)
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To become a better person (68%)
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For comfort in trouble or sorrow (66%)
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For helpful sermons (59%)
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To be part of a faith community (57%)
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To continue a family tradition (37%)
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To fulfill a sense of obligation (31%)
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To meet new people or socialize (19%)
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To please their family, spouse, or partner (16%)
Attending church helps people feel closer to God. It instructs their children in morality. It makes them better people. It enables them to deal with adversity.
It helps them deal with life issues. It makes them feel included. It helps them continue the family tradition.
It increases their social network. It keeps significant others off their backs. Most of these are diverse ways of saying, “I go because the ministries of my church meet my needs.”
The better the local church meets the needs of those who attend, the more enthusiastic they are about it. Churches should meet people’s needs. That’s what love does.
Assembling with other believers is important (Hebrews 10:24-25). But meeting together isn’t an end in itself. It’s part of a larger purpose.
The goal isn’t the long-time survival of individual local churches. The goal is the long-term survival and expansion of the gospel.
The church is God’s vehicle to pass the Christian faith intact from generation to generation. That includes what to believe and teach (1 Timothy 2:2) and how to live (Philippians 4:9).
The church is to equip Jesus’ followers to conform to His will and ways generation after generation. Local churches that do that tend to grow. But numerical growth isn’t the goal.
Imagine God’s will and ways are a baton. The measure of a church is how effectively its members receive that baton (conform to God’s will and ways) and pass it to the next generation without dropping it.
How is the church like a track and field relay event?
Read 2 Thessalonians 1.
189 Tradition and True Worship
Tradition can hinder true worship. It’s a wonderful servant but a terrible master. The Pharisees and scribes noticed Jesus’ disciples were eating food with unwashed hands. They were breaking the rules.
Like many traditions today, handwashing began legitimately. The washings in Exodus 30:19–20 taught the priests they needed a pure heart to enter God’s presence.
Then, they made the symbol a required spiritual exercise for everyone. Finally, handwashing became the focus. They ignored purity before God.
You can easily fall into the same trap today. The Lord commissioned the church to make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). Many churches are more committed to maintaining and preserving their traditions than making disciples.
Jesus condemned the Pharisees for substituting human priorities for God’s commandments. Beware of “Churchianity” clothed in lists of what to do and not do.
Jesus explained in Mark 7:18–23 that external things don’t defile you. Instead, the thoughts and actions which defile you spring from your rebellious heart. That rebellion against God among church members hinders a church’s ministry more than anything else.
Beginning in Mark 7:24, we read about Jesus’ venture to Phoenicia. A Gentile woman approached Him. She believed He could cast a demon from her daughter.
Jesus appeared indifferent to her need. He seemed to refuse her request because she was a Gentile.
She still believed she could benefit from Jesus’ presence. She asked only for crumbs from the table.
Her wit, faith, and humility pleased Jesus. He graciously healed her daughter.
What if He had remained faithful to Jewish traditions? He would have refused her request and said something like, “You’re a Gentile. You’re not part of the people of God.”
What traditions and attitudes in your church exclude people from the family of God?
How can you make people unlike you feel welcome?
Read 2 Thessalonians 2.
190 Being the Church (1)
I once pretended to be sick when I was a child to avoid going to church. I was ill within a day or two. Was it a coincidence? Let me say I only did that once!
Going to church isn’t the same as being the church. Fans of Jesus go to church. But Jesus is gathering followers, not recruiting fans.
His followers are the church, His hands, and his feet on earth 24/7. Being the church is more than attending worship services regularly.
Attending church regularly suggests real progress for new believers who didn’t previously. I say “suggests” because only God knows what you do and why you do it.
Doing the right thing for the right reason is challenging. Why you go to worship services is at least as important as going.
King David rejoiced when he could go to the Lord’s house (Psalm 122:1). It wasn’t a duty, but a joy!
Today the Lord lives in His followers. When you meet with them, you meet God in a way you don’t when you worship Him privately.
In God’s presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). Worshipping Jesus with other followers brings joy!
The church isn’t a building with pews, theater seats, or folding chairs. It isn’t where a few perform, and many criticize.
It’s a living organism God created—the body of which Christ is head (Colossians 1:18). Being the church means living interdependently with other believers and dependently on Christ.
You can’t call yourself a football player unless you’re part of a team. Football is a team sport.
Christians should be serving in Christ’s church. Christianity isn’t an individual endeavor.
Football players depend on one another to complete assigned roles for the team to be successful. So it is with the body of Christ, the church.
How do you explain the difference between attending church services and being the church? Read 2 Thessalonians 3.
191 Being the Church (2)
You need the other members of the church. The other members need you (1 Corinthians 12:17–21).
You’re like an index finger. The hand (church) can’t function properly without you.
You can’t function properly apart from your designated place in the hand (church).
The hand is home. The hand and the index finger need a vital connection to the head (Christ).
Christian fellowship means sharing. As a believer, you share Christ’s life with other believers. You share the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
You share cleansing from sin. You share a commitment to follow Him. You share membership in His body and much more.
Fellowship implies union and oneness. The marriage relationship pictures it.
Two become one in a marriage ceremony. Likewise, all believers become one through the Holy Spirit’s baptizing them into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13).
As a result, you also have fellowship with the Father and Jesus Christ, His Son (1 John 1:3). The fullness of God’s life flows simultaneously through the bonds of relationships between God and believers and among believers.
What did church life look like for the first 3,000 Christians baptized into the church? What did it mean to be the church?
They dedicated themselves to fellowship. They dedicated themselves to the apostles’ teaching. They committed themselves to the breaking of bread (Lord’s Supper) and prayer (Acts 2:42). All these were channels for the flow of God’s life.
Ephesians 4 describes the flow of God’s life in the church and its purpose. The members of God’s church are to be humble, gentle, and patient.
They are to bear with other believers in love (v. 2). They are to make a concerted effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit (v. 3).
They use the grace gifts Christ has apportioned to do works of service that build up the church (vv. 7–12). They express His fullness to the world (v. 13).
In what ways have you experienced the flow of God’s life through you?
Read 1 Timothy 1.
192 Being the Church (3)
The church reflects Christ more accurately than you can alone. It’s like a car, and you, its tire. You find your purpose on the wheel. It depends on you to run properly.
Effective Christianity is organized collaboration. You can accomplish more together than you can imagine according to the power at work in all of you (Ephesians 3:20).
The word of God equips you to carry God’s life to others. It’s living and active (Hebrews 4:12).
As you input it into your life, it changes your thinking (Romans 12:2). Your relationships become increasingly healthy and full of God’s life. The church teaches and preaches God’s word to build your spiritual muscles. It prepares you for works of service (1 Peter 2:2, Ephesians 4:12).
In a word, love summarizes the flow of life between God and you. Between you and other believers. Between you and your neighbors. Between you and your enemies.
You demonstrate it through your spiritual gift(s) (1 Corinthians 12:4–5) as you serve others (John 13:14–16). As you spur one another on to ever-increasing love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24).
Love flowing between and among believers is the distinguishing mark of Jesus’ followers (John 13:34–35). That’s why believers mustn’t give up meeting with other believers (Hebrews 10:25).
You can love other believers only as you associate with and relate to them. Attending a local church advertises your allegiance to Jesus to those who don’t believe in Him (Matthew 10:32).
Attending church services is different from being the church. Jesus’ fans go to church. His followers are the church.
The fans are like insulation. The followers like copper wire. God’s power flows through the wires, not the insulation. You want God’s life to flow through you. I know I do. Be the church!
Why is being a Jesus fan no substitute for being a Jesus follower? Which are you? Read 1 Timothy 2.
193 Do I Need the Church?
“I don’t have to go to church to be a Christian,” she told me more than 25 years ago. Is that true?
She had a misguided idea of her Christian responsibility. Barring health issues and other limiting factors, spiritually healthy believers actively participate in the church.
But not all who attend church services are Christians. The challenge is not to go to church but to be the church.
That’s true whether you’re a vital part of a 1000-person assembly or a twelve-person house church. Christianity isn’t just a “Jesus and me” affair.
Suppose I claim to be a football player. You might ask, “For what team do you play?” I say, “I don’t play for any team.”
That’s like saying “I don’t have to go to church to be a Christian.” Football is a team sport. Becoming a Christian automatically makes you part of Jesus’ team with a place and a responsibility.
To use another analogy, Jesus is the head of the body, the church (Colossians 1:18). You’re a member of that body with a specific responsibility.
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7 NIV). That is, each believer has one or more spiritual gifts given to strengthen the whole church.
Jesus chooses spiritual leaders to equip the church’s members. They’re to build up His body toward unity and maturity to reflect His fullness (Ephesians 4:11–13).
“From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:16 NIV).
The church is God’s instrument to fulfill your destiny and purpose. You need the church like the food you eat and the air you breathe.
Life isn’t about you. It’s about achieving the purpose for which God created you. For that, you need the church.
What is the next step to be God’s church instead of just going to church? Read 1 Timothy 3.
194 Faith-Linked
Who has brought out the best in you? My father influenced me more than my mother. She died when I was seven.
Then, at sixty-four years old, my never-married Aunt Elizabeth left her job. She moved into our home. She cared for five boys ages one, five, seven, seven, and thirteen.
Knowing us boys, I wouldn’t have volunteered for that retirement assignment! Through her example, she taught me how to serve others unselfishly.
My father taught me how to work. He showed me how to drive a car. He emphasized the importance of keeping my promises. He taught me countless other lessons I absorbed and imitated unconsciously.
Who has brought out the best in you spiritually? John Gruver and Dick Stum taught me Christian fundamentals.
Blair Cook helped steer me toward ministry as a vocation. Josh McDowell, Paul Little, C. S. Lewis, A. W. Tozer, and John Piper shaped me through their writings.
Walter Kaiser, Jr, Donald Carson, and David Hesselgrave, among others, helped prepare me for pastoral ministry. Pastor Charlie Yost and others encouraged my writing efforts.
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7 NIV). God gifts you to minister to others effectively.
He’s given me the ability to teach and write. Those who’ve shaped me spiritually have enhanced my ability to help others.
My computer, linked to the internet, has allowed millions of people thousands of miles away to read what I write.
A cell phone’s battery must connect to a power source and recharge to continue operating. You benefit from linking to the unique gifts of grace God has given other believers.
They benefit from connecting to your gifts. You live most effectively when you’re linked with other Christians and “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24 NIV). Faith-linking is the heart of Christian fellowship.
Who has brought out the best in you spiritually? How? In whose lives are you making spiritual investments? How? Read 1 Timothy 4.
195 Cyber Sunday
Cyber Monday got me thinking about the possibilities of a Cyber Sunday. Of course, certain rules apply.
All parishioners must bring a phone or tablet to the church bethel. They must keep their eyes glued to it from the beginning to the end of the service. Those not fluent in the cyber world must bring a child or grandchild who is.
Church officials forbid eye contact or talking with other live persons at the service. Breaking this rule will result in ex-communication from the church.
They encourage texting and tweets. They must not involve others sitting in the sanctuary.
Everyone watches a live-streamed church service that most appeals to them. Ideally, everyone will be viewing different services.
Streamed services vary in length. All may leave whenever the worship services they’re watching conclude. Church leaders forbid interpersonal connection while exiting the sanctuary.
Church leaders value diversity. They permit singing along to the streamed service. But please, no harmony.
You’re wondering about exceptional deals on Cyber Sunday. There’s a 50 percent off sale on the Ten Commandments. Choose the five you’ll obey for the next year. Forget the rest.
Church officials consider you a regular attendee if you’re present for Cyber Sunday. There’s also a 90 percent reduction offer on your tithe.
You qualify to be a church elder after attending two Cyber Sunday services. Of course, all that is tongue-in-cheek.
Meanwhile, Jesus told us to love one another as He has loved us (John 13:34–35). His word tells us to challenge each other to love and do good (Hebrews 10:24).
We’re to serve the Lord with zeal and spiritual fervor (Romans 12:11). So, does your church look more like the last paragraph or the first three (adjusted for exaggeration)?
How can modern technology hinder worshiping God in spirit and truth?
Read 1 Timothy 5.
196 We Got This!
“I got this” is the motto of those with self-confidence. That’s been my usual approach to overcoming day-to-day problems and challenges. “I got this” works better than “This got me.”
If I apply persistent pressure on problems or challenges, they usually bend, break, or dissolve. That’s often worked for me in the realm of things.
That’s how I solve math problems. It’s how I fill out complicated forms.
However, “I got this” has significant limitations for me as a believer. It immediately takes on water in stormy seas. It’s a sinking ship in the spiritual realm.
That’s because apart from Jesus I can do nothing. Nothing, that is, that will make any lasting spiritual impact (John 15:5).
“He got this” summarizes “Let go and let God.” In the spiritual realm, that’s better than “I got this.” As I’ve already suggested, that sinks like a stone.
Faith trusts that God will do what He promises (Hebrews 11:6). Nothing is too hard for Him (Genesis 18:14, Jeremiah 32:27).
He’s called the Sovereign LORD 210 times in Ezekiel alone. His power is supreme and ultimate.
He does what He wants when He wants. But “He got this” doesn’t accurately describe how God usually advances His Kingdom on Earth.
“We got this,” is God’s way. God, other believers, and I are all part of “we.”
Jesus is the head of the body of the church (Colossians 1:18), which includes all believers. Each believer plays a vital part in accomplishing God’s will on earth (1 Corinthians 12:12–30).
Jesus is the head. We’re His hands and feet. It takes a team to overcome. You need God and other believers.
Without God, you can’t, but without you, God usually won’t. He uses you to accomplish His will.
He didn’t permanently etch His word in the sky. He doesn’t write His will in the heart of everyone. He could’ve. He’s used people to communicate it and live it out.
I shouldn’t have to repeatedly change gears from “I got this” to “We got this.” “We got this” is the only gear I need. How about you?
In what gear do you normally live—I got this, this got me, He got this, or we got this? What adjustment do you need to make? Read 1 Timothy 6.
197 The Church Puzzle Parable (1)
A jigsaw puzzle reminds you of the church. Interlocking parts form a beautiful picture. “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12 NIV).
It takes many pieces to make a complete jigsaw picture. “As it is, there are many parts, but one body” (1 Corinthians 12:20 NIV). Many healthy believers living in loving harmony represent Christ more accurately than any individual believer does, including the pastor.
Matthew 5:14 ( NIV) says, “You (plural) are the light of the world.” In other words, “All of you together are a picture of Christ for the world to see.” Those not part of the church see how you relate to one another and them.
Jesus has all the gifts of the Spirit. Your pastor doesn’t. Neither does any other single individual.
We need all the gifts of the Spirit. We need the fruit of the Spirit. Through both, we reflect Jesus as accurately as possible.
The part of the picture that you compose is a bit fuzzy. That’s because you’re less than a perfect copy of your Savior.
But put the church puzzle pieces together in their proper places. Love other believers. Then, the picture might not be Michelangelo’s quality, but others will see Jesus.
God is in charge of puzzle design. Some churches have twenty-five pieces. Some have five hundred or more.
Some of us think we’re twenty-five-piece puzzles when God designed us to be one hundred-piece puzzles. There are more pieces still in the box than we realize.
Assembly of the puzzle is an ongoing process. All puzzles (churches) are equally important. God designs them all to impact the people who live in their communities.
He designs them to be a picture of Jesus. God communicated His nature by sending His Son to earth as a man. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14 NIV).
In our time, God sends a church to accomplish the same purpose. “Now you (plural) are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27 NIV).
What part of the church puzzle are you? Why is demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit essential to complete your role? Read 2 Timothy 1.
198 The Church Puzzle Parable (2)
Every piece of the church puzzle is necessary. “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27 NIV).
The picture of Christ that the church puzzle represents won’t be clear if seventy-five percent of the puzzle pieces aren’t involved. Instead, they’re criticizing or spectating from the comfort of the puzzle box.
The church puzzle includes people who are God’s church, not just going to church. Are you trusting in Jesus as your personal Savior? If so, being God’s church means ministering to others. Serving others isn’t optional for Christ’s followers.
The puzzle pieces aren’t in the box by accident. God has called and equipped you. You’re to play a significant role in advancing His rule on earth.
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7 NIV). Your purpose is to be the best steward of the gift(s) the Spirit has given you. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.
Believers who don’t know their spiritual gifts are abnormal. It’s like mechanics who don’t recognize the tools in their toolbox.
If they do, they don’t know how to use them. The sooner that’s corrected, the better.
Your gifts include your spiritual passion, spiritual gifts, and temperament. To identify these three, see Becoming an Enthusiastic Church, Chapter 7, Healthy Ministry (https://www.christiangrowthresources.com/becoming-an-enthusiastic-church).
These gifts are part of your divine design. They point you toward your ministry.
In addition, I encourage every church to list and regularly update all its ministries. Job descriptions for each ministry help those still in the puzzle box become contributing parts of the picture of Christ.
What’s your spiritual passion? What is your spiritual gift(s)? What’s your temperament? Read 2 Timothy 2.
199 The Church Puzzle Parable (3)
Church puzzle pieces have a limited life expectancy. God, collaborating with church leaders, must replace them over time. Otherwise, a local church will cease to exist.
Do you know the best way to add puzzle pieces to the puzzle piece box? Meet the felt needs of those not yet part of the church.
Some whose needs you meet will become future church members and leaders. The church helps new members mature spiritually. It empowers them to meet the needs of others.
Three groups of people are potentially replacement pieces in the church puzzle box. But they aren’t yet in the church puzzle.
The first group consists of believers in Jesus who attend church services. But they aren’t regularly ministering to others through ministries of the word or service.
If you’re in this group, allow God to use you as He desires. Ask a spiritual leader to help you. Find your place in ministry based on your spiritual gift(s), spiritual passion, and personality.
Seekers who are already attending church services compose the second group. They’re not yet believers in Jesus Christ. But they’re seeking truth. Jesus is that truth (John 14:6).
If you’re in that group, God calls you to turn from living for yourself to living for Him. He invites you to receive His gifts. They include forgiveness, eternal life, and power all wrapped up in the Person of Jesus.
You can receive Him through the following prayer. The words aren’t magic. They indicate a heart that is ready to follow Jesus.
“Lord Jesus, I need you. I know I’m a sinner who deserves Your condemnation. Thank you for taking my place on the cross. I open the door of my life. I receive you as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for forgiving my sins and making me a child of God. Help me find my place in the church puzzle.”
Tell a spiritual leader about your decision. Ask how you can grow in your relationship with Christ.
The third group of pieces in the box represents people who haven’t yet received Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord. They aren’t attending any church.
Jesus commissioned the church to reach them through its ministry. The church needs prayer and intentional strategies to do so. By God’s grace, next year at this time they’ll be part of the puzzle too!
It takes many pieces to make a complete church puzzle. Every piece of the church puzzle is necessary.
Church puzzle pieces have a limited life expectancy. Local churches must replace them over time, or they will cease to exist.
What’s your next step toward being a blessing as a piece of the church puzzle? Read 2 Timothy 3.