This week in our session of Multiply by Francis Chan, we discuss Part II: Living as the Church. Regardless of our background or current situation or past experiences, if we are a Christian we do live as a church. This week we see the character of the church we create and engage with, as well as how we engage and some motivations involved.

The section describes how our Western Culture has evolved and how we tend to look up to Lone Rangers. Our heroes are strong and self-sufficient, and the tend to walk alone. We each hear the call the follow Jesus, and we do it in our own fashion. Francis points out that following Jesus was never meant to be done alone. As we have read from the Great Commission, we are to teach people to “observe all that I have commanded”; if we have no one to love, pray for, or encourage, how can this happen. We all agreed a couple weeks ago that it takes a relationship for people to receive guidance and grow in community.  The concept of “one another” can not be done individually.

We cannot claim to follow Jesus if we neglect the church He created, the church He died for, the church He entrusted His mission to. Teaching people to obey what Jesus commanded is a never-ending process that requires us to intertwine our lives with the Christians around us. As disciple makers, we will join together with other believers, help them overcome the sin that holds them back, and challenge them to grow into more effective disciple makers.

Committing our life to the Church

Church, it’s not a social club, it’s not a building, it’s not an option. We need to make sure that we do not belittle what the church is. We must understand that the church is life and death.  The church is God’s strategy for reaching the world, we would not be here today in this setting if it was not for the church. We must realize that church is not an activity center with events and feel good music and suggestions. We also must not equate well-attended events with the health of the church. Here is Francis definition of the church

The church is a group of redeemed people that live and serve together in such a way that their lives and communities are transformed. What matters is your interaction with the people God has placed in your life. If you are not connected with other Christians, serving and being served, challenging and being challenged, then you are not living as He desires, and the church is not functioning as He intended.

What are your thoughts on that statement?

Why do you think the New Testament places such a priority on Christians being committed members of local churches? How can this priority best be reflected in your life?

This last week our devotional reading focused on the book of Ephesians and we have recently studied the book of Ephesians.  Paul’s letter was to a body of believers operating in a fashion of the church. Let’s read the beginning of chapter 4

¹ As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ² Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

⁷ But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. ⁸ This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.” ^j

⁹ (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? ¹⁰ He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) ¹¹ So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

¹⁴ Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶ 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 4:1-16 NIV

How should this passage affect the way you view your responsibility to other Christians in the church?

We learned in session 1 that we are all called to “minister”; to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12)

Think about your unique setting and identify a few opportunities that God has given you to minister to the people around you. Have you taken advantage of these opportunities?

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. ² Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. – Galatians 6:1-2 NIV

What would it look like to help bear someone else’s burden? Is there anyone in your life right now whom you should be helping in this way?

One of the great topics in this weeks session, which aligns with our groups statements over and over again. True Christianity is more than surface level. People tend to judge the outside without knowing the inside. In recovery, many of us have learned that there is more to the problems of life than what is seen on the surface.

Why do you think we tend to focus on the external circumstances and behavior when we try to help people change?

Explain why it is essential to get to the heart of the problem rather than merely addressing the circumstances and behavior.

We can’t change anyone’s heart. We can impact their life but we are powerless to change their heart. God’s plan for redemption comes into play here. The gospel is not merely about “getting us saved”, as if we simply pray a prayer and are immediately transported into heaven. God describes “salvation” and the transformation of Christians as follows.

I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. – Ezekiel 36:26-27 ESV

This is more than saying a prayer and just having a better life the way we intended things to be. It is actually an overhaul, and transformation. When God truly enters our lives, we are changed, from the inside out.

How should the truth of the Gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit affect the way we approach helping people change?

Bearing one another’s burdens is not easy, but it is also not optional. “A church full of isolated individuals feeling defeated by their sin and stripped of their joy was never God’s plan for the church.” God has empowered us, via the Holy Spirit, to bring truth and transformation into the lives of the people around us, not to be satisfied with handing out books and warm wishes.

Would you say that your church body is characterized more by defeat and isolation or the power and transformation of the Holy Spirit? Why do you say that?

What steps can you take right away to help your church function more like God intended?

Paul’s vision of the church in Ephesians helps us understand we are to be involved in His movement…

Speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 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 4:15-16 NIV

Would you say that you have been playing your part in the body of Christ? If so, how might you still need to grow in this? If not, are you ready to get involved? What steps might you need to take?

This coming week we will read Part II: 2 The Local Church. Along with the chapter, some great daily bible reading will support the session. Just read one of the references each day.

1 Corinthians 1
Romans 12
Galatians 6
Colossians 3
1 Timothy 2 & 3
1 John 3

This weeks video from Francis

The New International Version. (2011).  Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.