On being a community church (Part 1)

I visited a church, with the intention of joining them long-term, on Sunday. It was quite a unique church with a beautiful vision that I believe is from God and aligns beautifully with his plans and purposes. You can visit their blog/site at cantrburychurchplant.wordpress.com. I was encouraged to read their vision statement to get a better sense of the bigger picture for why they exist as a church, and that definitely got lots of gears in my brain turning, and my heart pumping with excitement! (See their vision statement at: http://www.canterburychurchplant.com/our-vision.) I will explain why below.

I was very graciously invited to join them for lunch at Jonathan’s (the minister) home where I was greeted with lots of love and welcoming faces. There I met nearly almost the whole church, about 15 people, so it’s still early days for these brothers and sisters, but it seems like it’s started off with God’s behind it!

What makes this church so unique in my eyes is the fact that when they call themselves ‘Canterbury Community Church’, they really seek to be that! Unlike most community churches which have their beginnings in being a body of Christians who meet up on Sundays and live what can sometimes seem like separate lives during the week wherever they’re at, except for weekly bible studies, socials, etc., this church seeks to make the community their meeting point – instead of seeking to draw people to church, they seek to go to the people! And they really do! After lunch, they go door knocking and house visiting, seeking to establish relationships with neighbours. I got to visit an old couple with one of the team with whom they’ve been spending time with since establishing an initial relationship. I was surprised by how much this person knew about this couple’s life and their daily happenings, as we conversed. The conversations we had were generally ordinary, but I felt like we were having a relaxed catch up with old friend. In other words, it was a genuine relationship! I guess it was great for me to come in as a new guest, as it gave me an opportunity toshare a bit about my story and ask some intentional questions that would enable me to share some gospel bites. The beauty of it was that because there was an already established relationship with this couple, they didn’t shut the door in my face when I brought up something about Jesus. One of the guys on the team, Christian, said to me that he had always had negative experiences with door knocking, but since he joined this church, it has been very different. And I really got to see that for myself. It really made me think…do we as Sydney suburban Christians see our local neighbours as part of our personal community? As the community in which we seek to be a light for—and this is the important bit—as a church? If so, then how are we making them part of our personal community? I think Canterbury Community Church is seeking to answer this question by the way they have prioritised getting to know people and building relationships based on love for them.

More thoughts to come 🙂

One body, many different parts

‘Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ…Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.’ (I Corinthians 12:12, 15-20)

I think God is teaching me to appreciate this more and more.  I’d always think the ‘gifts’ that Paul is talking of here, with each member of the body being different, that is having different gifts from the same Spirit, as being skills mainly.  But I’m discovering that it’s a whole lot more than that!  I was talking to a good friend tonight (or rather, last night, since it is now the morning of the following day!) and she told me that she feels like she’s not ‘outward-looking’ enough, always staying in one place and not venturing beyond.  But as she spoke, and as I thought of how to respond, I was reminded of the above words, and encouraged to see them with new eyes.  What my friend didn’t see, but I see often, is the way she comes up with the most creative and engaging ways to teach children about Jesus, the way she notices the little things in the classroom, the way Luke answered a question, or the way Benjamin helped another person solve a puzzle, and encourages them by sharing these things with them, or the way she talks to new people at church, sensitive to their sense of awkwardness and listening to them patiently.  Not to praise her, but to praise the Lord who brings all peoples to himself and calls them together under the headship of Christ, do I mention this.

Unlike my friend, I’m a bit of a broad strokes person.  She doesn’t think too much about ‘the future’ but is content to do her best in the present.  I, on the other hand, think a bit too much about the future at times, and can be neglectful of the present.  She likes to pay attention to things on a day-to-day basis; I like to pay attention to things in ‘monthly view’ and ‘yearly view’.  She doesn’t mind and in fact enjoys decorating, adding pictures and even creating fun fonts for the Sunday school worksheets I make; I, on the other hand, like to just type everything up in Arial Font Size 12 and print it, thinking only of the content and not very much of the presentation.  Both I don’t think I’d be a very good Sunday school teacher without her, or people like her!

It seems the many parts of the body are just that!  It is the whole person, God’s creation and God’s recreation in Jesus, that God gives and puts into the body of Christ!  It makes sense that ‘God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?’ (I Corinthians 12:28-29).  It is not that he gives the gift of teaching to some, but that he gives teachers, evangelists, people who are good to noticing the details, people who like to think things in systematic ways, people who are thinkers, people who are doers, etc.  Of course, we change, and that’s entailed in being part of the body actually (‘Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind’ (I Peter 3:8)) but more importantly, ‘he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that ti builds itself up in love.’ (Ephesians 4:11-13, 15-16).  What a breath-taking picture of what God has in stall for bringing such a diversity of people together – and what an ambitious project indeed!  To be distinct in our roles, in the way He creates and moulds us to be, but at the same time having one mind (the same ambition, purpose, attitude, motivation, and heart as Jesus).  And it is God who will do it!  What an amazing God.