Missional Community Part 1: Community Is None Negotiable

A lot of the modern day world is based on, “what have you done for me lately?” In some areas of life, “What have you done for me today?”

We live in a post-modern world where experiencing something trumps knowing something every time. In the past decade we have seen the rise and fall of the financial sector, politicians, and even Christianity. People are no longer taking people’s word for things, they want to see results, they want proof, and if you don’t have proof or get the results you have said… WATCH OUT!

Church life is really something special isn’t it? If you have been apart of a church you know what I mean. There are some amazing moments when God shows up and rocks place… then there are those days when you see things that go on and it makes you question what you are actually doing their. Community is a big topic for me right now. Living in a Godly biblical community is something that I am desiring and longing for. I believe that there needs to be a shift in the mindset about community; that it should be what drives a Sunday morning meeting. Meaning, missional community needs to be the focus, and NOT a Sunday morning. If your church focus is the Sunday morning meeting then if something happens to the meeting or the power goes out, how then is the gospel going to be shared? The best place to find anything Godly is always the Bible! It should be a safe haven for every believer. For the past 6-8 months 1 Thessalonians 5: 12-22 has been a continual refuge that there is a hope, there is a standard, there is a place to learn from. The text says:

12We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,13and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16 Rejoice always, 17pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20Do not despise prophecies, 21but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22Abstain from every form of evil.

After reading that passage, there is no mentioning of the fact that some people may not be apart of community… Everyone is involved, no matter what. This is what Paul has set out for the church of Thessalonica. It is not something that people can choose weather or not they want to be in Community… It is more, “if you love Jesus our Messiah then here are some guidelines on how you can live your life and in doing so letting Jesus reach people’s hearts. But, this is how you show them that you love them and are there to support them.” One thing that I am battling with at the moment is breaking the worldly mindset that I can do what ever I want; which then means with God there are going to be several chooses and I get to choose the one that makes me least break out of my own fears and insecurities. This is proving very hard for me at the moment. Getting over myself… I am starting this journey and most likely will take me my whole life to constantly remind myself that I am hear to glorify Christ, and not Me.

Ok, Verse 12. This means that we need to respect those in authority over us when they come and ask why our lives seem to be not going anywhere and challenge us on our relationship with God. That is very hard for a leader to do and for us as “sheep” to not take offense and shut down our hearts to them. Verse 13, isn’t it great that Paul answers the hard ones for us! We need to show them support for what they are doing in our lives and that stems from us living a humble life. Verse 14, the best way to describe “admonish the idle” is using a car. Our cars may be on but we are not going anywhere… So we should be warning those who we care and love if we don’t see them idling around in their lives. “Encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.” Pretty easy to understand, some people will need more encouraging then others, they will need you to support them and most of all, be patient with them. Verse 15 “See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.” Again, pretty simple but we constantly need to be checking our heart motive; “seek to do good to one another” in the context of your community that you are in; “and to everyone” in the context of people you meet throughout work, travel, friends of friends etc. Verse 16 “Rejoice always” that is the hardest one yet. Because that involves you correcting yourself, so when you are alone and had a crap day, what is going on in your mind? What is going on in your heart? Verse 17 “pray without ceasing” the ESV Study bible has this note beside verse 17, “suggests a mental attitude of prayerfulness, continual personal fellowship with God, and consciousness of being in his presence throughout each day” Verse 18 “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Being thankful for what God has done in your life is an essential belief. If we are not constantly giving thanks to God, for the things in our own lives, we can then get in to thinking that we can do things without God’s will, and without his power. That is a very steep slope that all of us are on. I am going to bunch Verse 19-21 all together because they won’t make sense apart. “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good” Ok, the church of Thessalonica has started to shut down when prophecies when they are brought without testing them with Scripture and with the elders. So Paul is saying when someone brings a prophecy, don’t shut out the Holy Spirit but test it and stay strong and the things that are good. Finally, verse 22 “Abstain from every form of evil.” At the time of this letter Paul was writing to address people who were getting stressed about life and God. Anything that is not glorifying God should be kept at a safe distance if possible… But I know it is not always that easy. The best way I can summarize that is by saying; you know you strengths and your weaknesses get help from people that Love and Care for you. Don’t feel shamed to ask for help, that is why God made community! So we wouldn’t have to fight on our own.

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