Introduction[1]
Sometimes I wonder if the frequency and seriousness of many problems that Christians face is not owing to the fact that most Christians in America do not experience relational, interpersonal, supernatural church life the way the New Testaments describes it. Psychological problems, marriage problems, parenting problems, self-identity problems, financial problems, career problems, loneliness, addictions, phobias, weaknesses, etc. within the body of Christ may merely be symptoms of an organic flaw in the way most Christians experience corporate church life.
For most Christians, corporate church life is a Sunday morning worship service and that's all. A smaller percentage add to that a class of some kind, perhaps on Sunday morning or Wednesday evening in which there is very little interpersonal ministry. Now don't misunderstand me, I believe in the tremendous value of corporate worship and I believe that solid teaching times are usually crucial for depth and strength. But you simply can't read the New Testament in search of what “church life” is supposed to be like and come away thinking that worship services and classes are the sum total of what church was supposed to be.
The inevitable effect of treating church as worship services and classes is to make the people of God passive and too dependent on ordained experts. And could it not be that this pervasive relational passivity and dependence of millions of Christians — I mean the failure to serve, the failure to be involved in interpersonal, spiritual ministry — rob us of some of Christ's precious remedies for the problems of our day? If God designed the church to function like a body -- with every member serving and ministering in the power of the Holy Spirit to other members, in regular interpersonal relationship -- then would it be surprising to find that the neglect of this regular interpersonal, spiritual service/ministry cripples the body in some of its functions and causes parts of the body to be weak and sick? Isn't that what you would expect?
The Bible never conceives of anyone coming to faith in Christ apart from becoming associated with a local church and then finding your place of service in the body of Christ. Are you serving the body, playing out your role, and thus contributing to the growth of the body and the glory of God? Are you involved with a group of believers in which you are able to actively exercise your spiritual gift? Are you involved with a group of believers in which you are able to actively “serve”? Are you in a position in which you are “vulnerable” or in which your spiritual walk is “transparent” to a group of believers? I fear that if you cannot answer “yes” to all (or at least most) of these questions, your spiritual walk and that of your local body will be stunted.
At Stonebriar Community Church, there are three venues in which believers can assemble:
- Sunday Morning Worship
- Adult Fellowships
- Community Groups
Each of these venues has inherent strengths and weaknesses – particularly in the context of a large suburban church. In light of several issues raised at the recent Town Hall Meeting (January 18, 2009), I want to take the time this morning to:
Explain why all three venues are biblically important and not interchangeable,
Consider strengths, limitations, and practical matters related to each venue, and
Guide you in how to reconcile their importance with the demands on your schedule, service, or family
I am indebted to David Hammock and his paper on “The Community of Believers.” Many of the comments on strengths and limitations were borrowed from his work. (Note: for purposes of this transcript, italicized text denotes material adapted from David’s paper.)
Sunday Morning Worship
The first venue for believers at Stonebriar to assemble is the Sunday morning worship[2] service. The Sunday morning worship service is a great opportunity to see some of the gifts of the Spirit manifested in ways that may not be experienced in other, smaller venues. For example:
- The senior pastor, who is most often the Sunday morning congregational speaker, is usually a man gifted in exegeting the Scriptures and communicating eternal truth to a large audience in clear, understandable terms. In addition to being gifted by God for such purposes, the pastor will normally have completed many years of formal and personal study and the congregants will receive the benefit of his diligence in applying himself to his vocational calling.
- Those who attend congregational worship will benefit from those who exercise their musical gifts with instruments, as well as those whose gifts are in planning and leading the other musicians and congregants in a time of corporate worship. This allows the believer to praise God in song.
- Those who attend church are often encouraged by the ministry of a choir, orchestra, or other musicians who employ their gifts in that setting to encourage us to worship through their music and singing.
While there are many benefits to Sunday morning worship service, there are some limitations as well. For example:
- While the sermon is a great time of learning and inspiration, it does not provide opportunity for questions and getting clarification of the Scripture on a “real time” basis.
- At Stonebriar, it is possible for attendees to remain virtually anonymous and unaccountable if they so choose. In other words, our pastors cannot develop an intimate relationship with all of the attendees so it is possible for attendees to “slip in and out” of our services and not to have a spiritual mentor or anyone to hold them spiritually accountable, or to exercise their spiritual gifts.
Coming out of the Town Hall Meeting last week, there were several “practical matters” related to the Sunday morning worship service that we need to address.
- For those families choosing to only attend either the 9:30am hour or the 11:15am hour, we are recommending that Titus II members migrate to the upper level on the left side of the auditorium. This will allow these members to have a time of valuable (albeit brief) fellowship with other members of the Adult Fellowship.
- How is the Word to be present and fill our worship? As the Bible shows, the Word is present in several forms. The most obvious is the reading of the Word. This Word should be a distinct and central part of worship. Paul wrote to Timothy, “devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching” (1 Tim. 4:13). The Word should also fill our prayers. The greatest prayers of the church are rich in the language of the Bible itself, offering God’s Word back to him in prayer. The Word should be the basis of our singing. At the very least the songs of the church should recount the truths of God’s saving work. Primary attention should be given to the content of songs, measuring lyrics by what is scriptural. The Word must be present in the sacraments of the church—baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Finally, the Word must be present in the preaching of the church. Preaching is the verbal communication of God’s Word, applying it to the lives of God’s people. Romans 10:14 actually says, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”[3]
- To meet with God we need to come to worship prepared. We need to come well-rested, expectant, thoughtfully ready to meet with God. We need to be aware that God will be present in the elements of worship that he has appointed. He will be present to speak through his Word and will be present to hear our praise and prayers. We come to worship in faith. Our faith must be real as we come to church, so that our reliance on Christ may deepen. We come to worship with repentance, acknowledging that we are sinners and seeking the grace of God so that we more and more turn from sin and pursue holiness. We come to worship with love for God and for his people. Such love will make us desire communion with the people of God and long to draw nearer to God.[4]
Adult Fellowships
The second venue for believers at Stonebriar to assemble is an adult fellowship. Stonebriar envisioned that these adult fellowships would provide a way for the larger church to be broken down into smaller, interpersonal groups. These adult fellowships have the following inherent strengths:
- They are normally led by believers who have received some type of formal theological training and/or have dedicated a great deal of time to personal study and understanding of the Word (Note: the scripture tells us that God gave us “pastors and teachers” -- Ephesians 4:11.) Those that attend these adult fellowship receive the benefit of someone who is using his gift to teach and who often serves in a pastoral role for the adult fellowship class.
- The smaller environment provides an opportunity for the teacher to know and mentor the class attendees and provide for some interpersonal relationship. That is, it is much more difficult to “get lost in the crowd” in an adult fellowship than it is in the Sunday morning worship service. T
- The smaller setting facilitates more intimacy, accountability, and body ministry (prayer, encouragement, meeting of practical needs, etc) among attendees.
- The adult fellowship provides virtually everyone with an opportunity to use his or her gift in some manner, whether that is in encouraging others, showing mercy, serving others, in administration, or other gifts.
- Finally, the time spent is usually dedicated to teaching of scripture but in a more interactive setting than church. Depending on the teaching style, there may be discussion before, during, or after any prepared lesson so attendees can obtain a more clear understanding of the Scriptures on a “real time” basis.
While there are many benefits to adult fellowships, there are some limitations as well. For example:
- Adult fellowships are often in a fixed time slot that allows for little or no flexibility. Given these time constraints, there is little, if any time for corporate worship, singing, or other congregational acts of worship that many find to be uplifting and encouraging. Even if there were more time, the confines of the room will usually not easily accommodate such an effort, nor would there necessarily be people in each class who are gifted to lead or otherwise minister in corporate worship.
- Some adult fellowships are blessed with teachers who are truly gifted communicators of the scripture and have spent many years in personal or formal study and are thus able to perform the teaching aspect of ministry in much the same way as a senior pastor. However, that is a high standard and probably more the exception than the rule, which is understandable in that most teachers have other vocations and teaching an adult fellowship is an avocation by necessity (although no less a calling).
Coming out of the Town Hall Meeting last week, there were several “practical matters” that need to be addressed. There were several questions related to the purpose, structure, and communication within Titus II. Titus II has:
1. A Vision Statement
Titus II’s vision statement is very simple. We desire to glorify God:
· upwardly through worship and prayer,
· inwardly through community and fellowship, and
· outwardly through service, missions, and outreach
2. A Diverse Set of Ministries
Titus II actively supports the following ministries:
· Community Groups
· Loving Spoonfuls
· Socials
· Missions/Service
· Greeters
· Prayer Partners
· Love & Respect
· Ladies Tea
· MILK
· Babysitting Co-Op
· Accountability Groups
· Men’s Breakfasts
· Men’s Nights
3. Mentors
Our name was chosen because it explains our unique membership. In the 2nd chapter of Titus, older men and older women are instructed to teach the younger men and women. Accordingly, Titus II has four (4) “older” couples who have committed to walking alongside class members and sharing life’s experiences together. In this manner, the class includes some intentionality for teachable moments as the older and younger members fellowship in church and in everyday settings.
4. An Intentional Structure
While the class is “officially” headed up by the Class Teacher/Pastor, this Teacher has subordinated himself to a group entitled the Servant Team. The primary function of the Servant Team is to serve as the Class by equipping the believers for their various God-appointed ministries, so that the whole body (in this case -- the Class) may be building itself up in love. The model followed by the Servant Team can be found in Ephesians 4:11-13.
“And He (Christ) gave some … as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”
The purpose for the gifted equipping the saints is to fix them to be servants. The word for “equipping” usually means fixing something that's broken (as when nets are torn, Matthew 4:21) or supplying something that is lacking. So the point of verses 11–12 is that Christ gives leaders to the church whose job is to repair what's broken and supply what's lacking in the believers.[5]
Think about this. Each of you is personally gifted by Christ with varied grace, and yet not so perfectly that you are not in need of fixing and supply by evangelists, pastors, and teachers. No one may say: "I am gifted and graced by Christ himself, I have no need of apostolic authority (which I believe comes through the New Testament), or prophetic encouragement, or evangelistic training, or pastoral nurture, or human teachers to apply the Bible to my life." This text makes plain that all of you are gifted with a measure of grace and all of you are in some measure lacking the improvement of grace.[6]
But the main point still hasn't been made. Verse 12 goes on to say that the leaders equip the saints for a specific purpose, namely, "for the work of service," or, "for the work of ministry." The fixing of what is broken and the supplying of what is lacking in the saints is not an end in itself. The leaders don't stop then and say, "O good, now we have fixed and supplied saints. The work is done." No, the fixing and supplying are meant to make the saints into servants, or ministers.[7] In short, Titus II exists and is structured to make you into servants or ministers.
5. A Robust Strategy of Communicating with Its Members
On a weekly basis, one of the Servant Team sends out an email. This email details all announcements, coming events, and prayer requests mentioned from the preceding Sunday. It details ministry opportunities and reports on ministry successes. In addition, it directs you to my blogsite (http://markastonetx.blogspot.com/) where you can read and comment on the lesson from the preceding Sunday. Simply put, Titus II has a robust strategy of communicating all relevant information with its members.
Community Groups
The third venue for believers at Stonebriar to assemble is a community group. As Titus II grew beyond 50 families, it no longer could be called a “small group.” Rather, Titus II began to look and act more like a “church within a church.” To address the loss of intimacy and accountability, Titus II launched community groups. There are many strengths found in these community groups:
- Those who are shy or intimidated by larger groups are often more willing to use their own spiritual gifts in a smaller setting, as well as being more vulnerable and accountable to an intimate circle of believers.
- Community groups are often where “the rubber meets the road” in daily living out the authentic Christian life in word and deed.
- These groups provide great opportunities for evangelism. Friends or neighbors who may be unwilling to come to a church may be more open to coming to a home Bible study.
People who consistently participate in these groups reap the many rewards of friendship, encouragement, practical help for everyday challenges, and an opportunity to minister to others.
While there are many benefits to these community groups, there are some limitations as well. For example:
- Since groups typically meet in homes, there are often logistical concerns that must be overcome as most homes don’t comfortably accommodate more than 10 adults.
- There are issues with accommodating children, both in terms of space and suitable activities, while the adults are ministering to one another and/or studying together.
- These groups do not meet weekly. Thus, there are inherent limitations related to frequency and continuity, especially when engaged in a particular course of study.
- While community groups may be blessed with gifted teachers, most teachers will not have the benefit of training or experience that a pastor or adult fellowship teacher is able to provide.
- Finally, unless a community group has a healthy connection to the church or adult fellowship, the relative infrequency of its meetings and small representation of the congregation can isolate it from the larger group and deprive it of ministry available to the body or opportunities to serve others in the body.
Coming out of the Town Hall Meeting last week, there were several “practical matters” that need to be addressed. There were several questions related to the purpose, structure, and nature of Titus II community groups.
1. What is the goal or purpose of Titus II community groups?
We need to see that “our current structure of doing church is woefully deficient.”[8] We have three regular forms of togetherness here at Stonebriar -- Sunday morning worship, Sunday morning adult fellowship, and Wednesday night bible studies. In all of these settings you “minister” to each other. But we are convinced that the New Testament calls for a kind of personal ministry among the saints that cannot be fulfilled in these larger forms of togetherness. Therefore, we need to issue a call for each of you to be involved in a smaller form of togetherness. Each of you needs to be actively involved in a community group. We believe that only in such a smaller group will believers really be free to exercise their spiritual gifts. Only in such a smaller group will believers be free to serve. Only in such a smaller group will believers be free to do most of the work of the ministry (e.g, exhorting one another every day – Hebrews 3:12-14; bearing one another’s burdens – Galatians 6:2).
2. How many community groups are there? When do they meet? Where do they meet?
Mammina / Tremaine
Every Other Friday
6:45pm – 10:00pm
Homes within the Community Group
Children are put to bed or supervised in another room
Meal, Fellowship, Prayer Time, Bible Study
Gustovich / Thacker
2nd and 4th Sundays
Stonebriar Community Church
Church Provided Childcare
Bible Study and Discussion
Buckley
2nd and 4th Sundays
4:45pm – 6:45pm
Stonebriar Community Church
Church Provided Childcare
Mixture of Bible Study and Prayer Time
Gonzalez / Leneveu
2nd and 4th Thursdays
7pm – 9pm
Homes within the Community Group
Children are put to bed or supervised in another room
Bible Study and Discussion
Cammarota / Shivers
Every Other Friday
6:45pm – 9:30pm
Homes within the Community Group
Children are put to bed or supervised in another room
Meal, Fellowship, Bible Study, Prayer Time
Hollman
2nd and 4th Thursdays
7pm – 9pm
Homes within the Community Group
Children are put to bed or supervised in another room
Dessert, Bible Study, Prayer (Social every 3rd Meeting)
Lewis / Thomas
1st and 3rd Thursday
Homes within the Community Group
No Childcare Provided
Light Snacks, Bible Study, Prayer Time
3. Are there any opportunities for forming a new group?
Yes. Whether you are interested in a different format, meeting on a different night, or meeting in a different area of town – we can work with you to form a new community group.
4. What type of training will be made available for community group leaders?
This year, we will be providing two types of training for the community group leaders. The first type of training will be the church-sponsored training for home group and adult fellowship leaders. This training is offered on a quarterly basis. The first training session will be at 1:00pm on Sunday, February 15th. The second type of training will be Titus II specific. I will be meeting with you three times this year to work through material that is relevant specifically to Titus II. We will provide you with the dates and locations in February.
5. Are there mentors in each community group?
At this time, the answer is no. I will be asking the community group leaders to poll their members to determine: a) whether each group wants a mentor couple, b) how often they would like a mentor couple to be present, and c) whether the group wants a mentor couple from within or from outside the class.
Conclusion
This follow-up discussion was not an exhaustive discourse on the characteristics, advantages, and limitations of the Sunday morning worship service, of adult fellowships, or of community groups. It was only meant to illustrate that each of these three venues for the gathering of believers has its unique strengths and limitations. As such, I hope that you do not choose to substitute one for the other. Or stated differently, I hope that you do not believe that they are interchangeable. Ideally, I hope that you will strive to participate in all three venues to reap the benefits that each has to offer and to ensure that the limitations of each are overcome by one of the other forms of assembling together. We must understand that we risk the loss of important ministry if we try to “pick one” (or two for that matter) over the other. All three venues are important to our spiritual growth, accountability, and service.
As such, I would challenge each of you to set as a goal to participate in all three. That will require making plans. You will have to:
· Get the children to bed early on Saturday night
· Possibly lay out your children’s clothing on Saturday night
· Set aside money to pay for babysitting for those Titus II events that do not provide childcare
· Etc.
Do it because it is good, important, and right. Do not do it because “you are supposed to do it.” The goal in making this plea is not to make you feel guilty. The goal is not to be legalistic. The goal is to educate you on the value of participating in all three venues. Do it if you can. But if you can’t -- if you won’t – you have the freedom in Christ to determine how to best worship and serve Him.
[1] John Piper, How Christ Enables the Church to Upbuild Itself in Love
[2] Dr. Robert Godfrey writes in “Pleasing God in Our Worship”: The Bible uses the word worship in at least three important ways. First, worship can refer to the whole life of the Christian. We are to live our lives for God and under God. We should seek to have all we do become loving service to him (Romans 12:1-2). Second, worship can refer to those personal times of prayer, praise, reflection, or Bible reading when we focus on God. David worshiped as he prayed and sang alone at night (Ps. 63:6-7). Third, worship can refer to times when Christians gather officially as a congregation to praise God. This form of worship is commended and commanded in the Scriptures (Heb. 10:25; Ps. 111:1). Clearly God wants his people to gather as congregations, expressing that they are the body of Christ as they worship him with one another.
[3] Dr. Robert Godfrey, “Pleasing God with Our Worship”
[4] Dr. Robert Godfrey, “Pleasing God with Our Worship”
[5] John Piper, Why the Saints Minister to the Body
[6] John Piper, Why the Saints Minister to the Body
[7] John Piper, Why the Saints Minister to the Body
[8] John Piper, Alone in a Big Church -- A Call to Small Togetherness
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