This is going to be a blog post that is ‘advertised’ only to
you who are members of our Unified Board.
It will be there for anyone who follows the blog, but it won’t get the
usual ‘facebook’ plug and it won’t be part of the general four-day process.
There are five basic purposes for a church seeking to
operate on the model of the New Testament.
Acts 2: 42-47 sets up the basic of the New Testament church. There were five basic things required.
1.
Fellowship.
First and foremost, the members of the church came together to be with
one another. They were a community of
believers, trying to get the Word out about Jesus. They befriended one another, supported one
another, and built one another up. That
is what every church is supposed to do.
2.
Worship.
They came together to praise the Lord.
They prayed, studied God’s Word, reached up to heaven to thank the one
who gave His life to save us. The
service of worship is still the centerpiece of our weekly church gathering.
3.
Discipleship.
Learning to become a follower-which is what ‘disciple’ means. The message on Sunday morning is in part a
teaching tool and an instrument of praise.
But people in our church are hungry to know more of what Jesus has to
teach us, more of how we give our lives more fully to him.
4.
Apostleship.
Learning to serve. An ‘apostle’
is ‘one who serves’. This service can be
anything done in God’s name for those in our neighborhood. Matthew 25: 31-46 gives the relationship of
service to eternal life or punishment.
5.
Joining the Ship. You might call it evangelism, you might call
it sharing your faith, it is the invitation you render to someone else to try
out Jesus. That might mean bringing them
to church. That might mean asking their
permission to give your own story, of how Jesus has helped you.
I know that last one is awkward compared to the rest, but I
cannot resist a pun. We are the City on
the Bay and there are Ships that define what it is we do. But what this means is that our ‘ships’ have
been inadequate. The Program lists
Worship, Discipleship, and Apostleship. We
need to add Fellowship and Joining the Ship.
But what struck me were our value statements. There are five of those. Those came together as a natural progression
from our Vision of ‘becoming a neighborhood in the Kingdom of God’. They connect eerily to these five.
1. I am a member of the church, and I shall take time for my neighbor, so I may grow
closer to them. This opens a relationship with our neighbor by providing fellowship,
company between neighbors.
- I am a member
of the church, and I shall take time to pray for my neighbor, that I may surround them in God’s
love. This begins the cycle of worship, a cycle we begin by coming to
God about our neighbor through the gift of prayer.
- I am a member
of the church, and I shall take time to know my neighbor so I may create community. So
begins the process of discipleship, as you engage with your neighbor as a
child of the living God. This may
sound simply like more fellowship, but we come to know our neighbors with
a greater purpose, the Kingdom of God.
- I am a member
of the church, and I shall take time to serve my neighbor so I may be Jesus’ minister. Service,
apostleship, plainly defined. The
Lord will give us the opportunity to be of service to others as we are
equipped and prepared to do so.
- I am a member
of the church, and I shall take time to share my faith with my neighbor so I see belief grow. This
is the offer to join the ship. It
is not our lead in, but it is the summary of what we seek to do in the
lives of our neighbors.
We are going to talk about this more and develop it more at the next
meeting of the Board. This is by way of
preparation, to offer time for questions, for communication, for setting out real
reasons for the things we do as the Board of the church.
Response can come by way of comments on the blog, or directly to me via
email. Peace and blessings.
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