The Church Wagon

We often refer to local congregations as “works.” For example, I’m involved with the work at South Boone, but we don’t always consider all that the label implies – that serving God in a congregation indeed takes work and effort. There are so many responsibilities involved with spreading the word, with lifting one another up as we should, and with just keeping the congregation running smoothly both as a facility and in the process of worship. On top of the visible roles of worship, there is so much that has to be going on behind the scenes to make a congregation work and to keep our church family knit closely together. We are like a team moving a large wagon up a bumpy hill, but not all of us always put equal effort into that journey.

Pullers and Pushers

We are pulling together in an uphill effort, and there will be bumps and obstacles on that path. We know the road of being a successful congregation can be a challenging one. We have members who look for opportunities to pull us forward, those who take initiative and who never get wrapped up in other dramas and distractions because they are caught up in living Acts 2:42. They are spiritually-minded people like those in Galatians 2:9. They are pillars who support us and prevent us from sliding backwards. Without the pullers, we have no forward momentum.

Alongside the pullers, we have those who push. They are like the Scribes and Pharisees of Matthew 23 who can tell everyone else what needs to be done, but they don’t follow through. They seldom speak of the congregation in terms of “we,” and the pushers distance themselves from close identification with the group. This is one who complains about the buildings cleanliness, but won’t clean up themselves. Instead of saying, “Here am I; send me,” the pusher says, “They ought to get to work.”

Hindering Progress

Neither pushers nor puller, there are those who are simply along for the ride. Revelation 3:16-17 speaks to those lukewarm individuals who take no active role in the spiritual matters or the physical needs of their congregation. The rider adds weight to the journey and does little to help accommodate for that added weight. The rider is good with the status quo and resists change that might upset their comfortable procession. They rely on the efforts of others and are largely unaware of the effort it takes to help a congregation’s journey, but they don’t realize the discouragement they offer to those trying to pull the congregation forward.

Then we have those in the church who are asleep, those who are about to fall off the cart. They are seldom concerned with the health of the congregation or their own spiritual health. They are hindering the journey by being in the way, uncommitted, and unconcerned, but they are still not actively fighting growth. Instead, that falls upon those who would hinder – those who criticize, who fight progress, who demonstrate an attitude of defeat to all around them. Hebrews 5:11-12 speaks of those who know little of the scriptures but who drag a congregation down. The hinderer demands a great deal of attention while doing little to help congregational progress.

Putting Forth an Effort

We should all have a goal of being the pullers, being the ones willing to do the work, to jump on what needs to be done, to help one another bear the weight of pulling a congregation forward on our spiritual road. What do our fellow Christians see in us? Do I have a reputation as a puller or as a pusher? Am I seen as one who doesn’t really care – sleeping on the job, just along for the ride, or actively hindering progress? What roles do we take in bearing one another’s burdens, in teaching, in taking care of the building, in preparing the Lord’s Supper, in attendance, in hospitality, in participating in worship?

If we compare our current level of motivation and effort to our enthusiasm when our congregation was new, how would we compare? Can we say we are as on fire right now as we were when we were just getting started, never knowing where we would meet week to week, always uncertain about the future, but fighting as hard as we could to survive as a group? Every stage of our existence provides new challenges and new opportunities, and every one of us needs to jump off the wagon, get out in front, and pull together. We need to keep each other excited about the work. We need to hold each other accountable, and we need to help each other keep pulling toward our ultimate goal. We can do great things in serving God, but it takes all of us to go as far as we can in His service.

lesson by Mark Ritter

Being the Church: Teaching

We’re continuing our thoughts surrounding the church in Jerusalem in our efforts to reignite our zeal and passion for being the Lord’s church. We know that all we say and do is in God’s service, and we also should recognize that we are always His church. In Acts 2:42-47, we read:

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Today, we’re going to look at that first verse, devoting ourselves to teaching. Teaching takes work. I’ve never heard someone say teaching is easy, that they have too much time to prepare, that they have too much help, that they receive too much praise, or that keeping students focused is too easy. Teaching methods change. Learning styles change, and anyone who has had experience teaching can attest to these challenges.

Growth Through Teaching

A part of being God’s church is caring about the spiritual growth of every member of our church family, and we have to care about those outside the church to want to bring them to Christ. In Acts 5:42, we the earliest of churches teaching day after day. Each day was seen as an opportunity, and Acts 28:23 shows them not only working daily but teaching all day as well. We are to never give up in our efforts to spread God’s word and encourage one another.

Ephesians 4:11 talks about our responsibility to work together to attain unity and spiritual maturity, and that teaching makes us spiritually stronger, less likely to be swayed by others. Then, Hebrews 5:11-14 reminds us that there are times when we should focus on teaching and times when we should focus on learning more. We attain knowledge, and we share that knowledge, always searching for more to know and share.

Taking Teaching Seriously

There is serious responsibility involved with teaching as we should. James 3 speaks to the strictness by which teachers will be judged. We have to take it seriously. Matthew 5:19 warns us against teaching from His word incorrectly. Also, I Timothy 4:11 tells us we should be an example when we teach. The things we teach should be seen in our lives, regardless of our age. Regardless of where you are on your spiritual journey, there is always someone you can help.

We will sometimes err when we teach, but we all need to be willing to help each others when we fall short of the mark. We need to be more like Aquila and Priscilla, helping each other spread the word more perfectly.

Being Responsible for Teaching

Ephesians 6:4 and II Timothy 3:15 speak to the responsibility of parents (and grandparents) to teach. We may look to others to teach our children, but ultimately, the spiritual health of my children come back to me. Still, we see that we all have responsibility for one another and each other’s children in Titus 2, training one another up to be better Christians. We teach each other God’s will, soundness of speech, self control, humility, and much more. Every one of us are teachers in some capacity, even when we don’t realize it.

People of that first church looked for every opportunity to build up and teach. Everywhere is the right place, and every time is the right time. We should always be helping each other and edifying one another however we can, however small or simple those moments are. Our actions speak more loudly than we realize, and our examples can spread a message you may not even know how to put into words. We want to help each other grow spiritually, and, even though we know its a difficult task, helping each other get to Heaven is worth it.

lesson by Ben Lanius

Living With Boldness

Matthew 5:13-16 calls us lights of the world and the salt of the earth, and to stand out as we should requires a certain amount of boldness. This is not an arrogant boldness, but rather it is a self-confidence regarding our hope and our faith. One example of such boldness involves Peter and John in Acts 3 and 4. The story begins simply enough with Peter and John healing a beggar of his paralysis, but soon people in the city take notice. Peter and John take this opportunity to preach Christ, and they get arrested for their testimony. The officials and religious leaders threaten the pair and tell them to avoid preaching Christ any more. At the end of chapter 4, they continue in prayer and in teaching, living boldly in the face of oppression.

Examples of Boldness

In Acts 3:11-16, we find Peter and John in the midst of a large crowd, in their own temple, accusing the congregated mass of crucifying Christ and convicting their hearts to repentance. This is a boldness of standing in our convictions in uncomfortable situations, but this is not license to tear others apart. We see the disciples standing firm, but they do so in love.

Instead of leaving this group with the accusations, Peter continues to talk about how to be restored to God. Again, this is not the friendliest of audiences to hear these words, but Peter persists. We also have opportunities to help others align their lives with God’s word, but we have to be willing to face uncomfortable situations and ears that may not always kindly receive what we have to say.

Finally, in the presence of those who could crucify them as easily as they did Jesus, Peter and John stand by their testimony and convict those officials for the role they played in Jesus’ murder. Peter’s defense of the truth give these leaders pause, and the disciples are simply left with an unheeded threat to speak of Jesus no longer.

Our Opportunities for Boldness

God has been forgotten in many ways in our culture. In some venues and on some topics, taking God’s side is not a respected opinion. When these situations arise, will we back down, or will we be like Peter and John, who respond by saying, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard,” in Acts 4:19-20?

If we are truly living Christ and standing for truth, we cannot be content with flying under the radar. We may upset others. We may face ridicule. We may face difficulties in the relationships we have, but we must decide who we are pleasing – God or man. We have to take a hard look at the opportunities we have to share and live God’s word, facing those situations with confidence in the faith and hope we have in our God.

lesson by Kris Casebolt

Being the Church

Many of the people in the crowds surrounding Jesus may have been many of the individuals who were to comprise the birth of the church in Acts 2. We see people who praise Jesus as He enters Jerusalem while the Pharisees are stirring unrest. Later in the week, those same people who cried, “Hosanna in the highest!” would cry out, “Crucify Him!” Then they would see and hear of the strange events surrounding Jesus death and resurrection, but the religious leaders who set themselves against Christ were probably feeling good about themselves. About fifty days later, however, something unusual happens at Pentecost, and these leaders and those people again hear Jesus preached about.

They hear Peter speak of prophecies in Joel and other prophets. They hear him and his companions speak languages they could not know. They hear him convict the crowd for the death of Jesus, even after they had seen the wonders and signs surrounding the Messiah. They hear Peter proclaim Jesus as Lord and Savior. They hear him preach forgiveness and salvation, and many in the crowd respond positively to that gospel message, that lesson of repentance and baptism. Some three thousand people are baptized into Christ that day, and more are added daily. This begins the story of the church.

Looking at the Jerusalem church, we want to learn what we should be as God’s the church. We want to do more than go to church. We want to be the church.

Remembering the First

In Revelation 2, one of the congregations Jesus addresses is that at Ephesus. It’s one of those congregations that looks outwardly strong. In verse 2, Jesus even acknowledges their strong stand for the truth, but He goes on to warn them against forsaking their first love. They are doing many of the right things, but they are not doing it for the right reasons. Jesus calls on them to remember where they came from and the love they once had. He asks them to repent and to remember how they first were. What we want is to look back at how the church looked when it was first established. We also want to remember what we were like as a new congregation ourselves.

Acts 2:42 talks about the things the first church did. It speaks of generosity toward each other. It speaks of a strong community who shared time, meals, prayers, and praise. They were together often, and they were spending a great deal of time together, doing things for God. They were visiting each other’s homes. They were sharing meals. The enthusiasm was infectious. Acts 5:42, Acts 12:5, Acts 12:17 – these and more demonstrate the enthusiasm in the first church and the love they show each other. They get together for prayer. They congregate to work out spiritual issues. They get together to teach and to edify. They come together to build each other up and keep each other on the road to Heaven.

The Hardships

We know from books like Hebrews that there were struggles involving sliding back to old traditions and old ways. We know those same religious leaders who tried to bring down Christ were also trying to bring down these new Christians. This is why Hebrews 10:25 and the surrounding verses are so important. They needed to come together again and again to encourage each other, to remind each other of their goal, to comfort each other, to study together and to pray with and for each other. They needed this in the face of overwhelming pressure and terrible persecution.

Hebrews 10:25 was not written to beat people up over attendance at worship, but why do we feel we have to use it that way? If you Google “not forsaking the assembly,” the majority of  top results link to Church of Christ websites addressing the issue of attendance, butt that will come naturally if our focus is God and if we are being the church of the First Century. Hebrews 2:1, 3:1-2, 4:1, 4:14, 6:4-6, 9:15 – these and more compel those early Christians to watch out for each other and to continue focusing on God. We may feel like we are not getting encouraged at worship, but that’s not the point. The point is that we should be working to encourage each other. Our focus should not be on ourselves, but on God and on our brothers and sisters in Christ.

It’s exciting to look back on the early days of the church and see the energy and the passion that they had. It’s also exciting to look back at the early days of our own congregation and see the same thing. Let’s rekindle those feelings and throw ourselves into lives where we no longer merely “go to church.” Let’s get busy being church.

lesson by Ben Lanius