More than a Club, Living in Community

November 12, 2006

Through the month of November, we are talking about community, “More than a Club: Living in Community.”

You may remember our little word study from last week. The word “community” can be divided into two parts. The first syllable “com” means “with”. To be “with” is to be together, to stand along side.  To be “with” is to be “connected” in some way. The first part of community is “with.” 

The second part of community is “unity.” It’s like the Spanish word for one, “Uno.” “Unity” is being together as one. It is being united, forged together.

So the word community means, “With unity.” Community is being forged together, connected together, living together as one.

Earlier in his letter, the writer creates a vision of Christian community. Let’s read from

Chapter two, starting with verse 19.

19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.[1]

Note the movement in verse 19: from being strangers and foreigners and aliens and immigrants – from being outsiders to becoming members of the household of God. 

• From being left out to being brought in
• From being excluded to being included
• From being homeless to finding a home
• NOW: members of the household of God

Verse 20: Look at the architecture of this home. The foundation is the work of the apostles and the prophets, preachers and witnesses to the truth of God. The cornerstone is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the one who holds this community together.

Verse 21: In Jesus, the whole building is held together and becomes a temple in the Lord.

Verse 22: Look at this image of community!  You are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

The image is this: When we live together “with unity”, in community, and when our community is shaped by the presence of Jesus Christ, then our community becomes the temple of God, the place where the Holy Spirit dwells.

Our community then has two distinctive dimensions. First, we are connected to one another like the building blocks of the temple which is held together by the cornerstone. We belong to one another, all of us belong to one another and there are no aliens or foreigners or outsiders. No person here is left out and we are not to leave any other person out. We belong together, all of us.

Now the question is, have you ever seen an empty building?  Have you ever seen a home that has been left empty, where nobody lived?  It doesn’t take long, does it, for the weeds to begin to take over the yard and for the grass and weeds together to grow long. Pretty soon the sidewalks are being covered over. Windows will be broken and the paint will begin to peel and the spiders will spin the cobwebs and dirt will seem to grow on the floors – when nobody lives in the house, it gets ugly soon.

Our community, the community of Christ, was designed as Somebody’s home and that somebody is none other than the Holy Spirit of God. When the One for whom the home is designed is neglected or forgotten, the house will soon begin to break down.

This is the second dimension of our community; we are called together to be the home of the Holy Spirit of God. We are built together to be the temple of God. Long ago God quit building temples out of brick and mortar and stained glass windows. Ever since Christ, God has been building God’s temples out of the fellowship of God’s people.

The single movement that transforms this community from a club into a temple of the Holy Spirit is the act of prayer. As we pray together, as we engage the Spirit of God together, we are the temple that God called First Baptist to be. When our prayer together has been neglected, we are nothing more than a club, an empty fellowship destined for self-destruction.

I am so grateful for the prayer centers that exist in our life together. We are not a church without prayer. It is and has been a central part of our life together.

Even as I say that, I want to offer a kind of confession, perhaps a pastoral observation.  I have come to believe that it is time to focus again on this central essential dimension of our life together.

In preparing for today, I turned again to the end of the book of Ephesians and read these words.

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. [2]

How shall I say this?  Somebody said that you are not paranoid when they really are out to get you! A couple of months ago, as I sat thinking about our Board of Ministries, I noticed that no member of our Board had escaped some kind of personal and  spiritual trauma in the past couple of years, and my family has not been exempted from the suffering.  And as it has happened to our church leaders, it has happened in some way to all of us. We have experienced crises with our jobs, the loss of beloved staff persons, illness either in our own bodies or in very close family members, mind-numbing sorrow related to our children and grandchildren, the inexplicable death of persons that we love dearly, deep spiritual uncertainty that is nothing short of crises of faith.  When the Board of Ministries gathers, I am nearly astounded that they are still vertical and amazed at the constancy of their faith.

And it feels like “Spiritual Warfare.”  We are engaging forces and powers that are greater than we imagined and we are taking casualties. I do not understand it and I do not like it but, I will confess before you and God, if I may speak theologically, it is beginning to feel like hell!  We are experiencing the reality of evil.

Now, there are times when I wonder if my name is Jonah. You will remember the ancient prophet who disobeyed God and ended up in the belly of a large fish. I have found myself wondering if I am in some way to blame or if there is some kind of sin in this church that is inviting the punishment of God.

On the other hand, I sometimes feel like Job. I wonder if Satan is just testing our faith. Could it be that there is something good and wonderful here that invites the testing of the great Tester?

I have wondered about it and have come to believe in the third option. For a long time now, we have been praying and working and seeking to be faithful to the call of God in our town. And it seems to sometimes happen, that when a church is preparing to make a difference for God, that it must first go through a time of testing and trial.

In war, the enemy never attacks the pop-corn factory or the cotton candy concession. When you are at war, you always attack the centers of power. I believe that this fellowship of believers, this community of baptized believers called First Baptist Church of Topeka is becoming a center of spiritual power.

Whatever the reasons for our recent season of sorrow, it is clear to me that we need to focus again on the reality of prayer and on the presence of the Holy Spirit of God in our midst.

So, since you have invited me to preach from this pulpit and you have invited me to serve as a spiritual leader in this church, as your pastor I am calling us to a season of prayer. I do not yet have a book and a plan – well, I do have a pretty good book!  I have not cleared anything with any board. I am just asking you to make the time from now through Easter a time of focused prayer.

I recently listened to Jeff Jones talk about prayer at our ABCCR meeting in Hutchinson. He drew a caricature of a typical board or Sunday School meeting. We begin with a tiny little word of prayer.  And then we talk among ourselves for a long time about the business of the meeting and we end with a tiny little word of prayer.

His suggestion: We have a long and serious prayer to begin and then a tiny little conversation about the business at hand and then end with a very serious prayer.

I am asking that every business meeting include serious prayer for the ministry of our church.

I am asking that every Sunday School Class make prayer a vital part of your life together.

I am asking that every choir rehearsal give serious time to prayer as you prepare to lead worship.

I am asking that every small group engage in serious prayer.

I am asking every youth and children’s gathering to engage in prayer.

In your personal life, make time for a serious engagement with the Holy Spirit of God.

And I hear the promise of the ancient prophet Isaiah.

            Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles

They will run and not grow weary

They will walk and not be faint.

            (Isaiah 40:31)

This home, this fellowship, this temple, was built to be a home, a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit of God. Let us give time to the Lord of the House,

Please, in the days to come, let us pray.