A DEVOTIONAL GUIDE FOR “THE TEN
TIMELESS VALUES FOR DISCIPLESHIP”
Today some of the most dynamic
churches in the world have rediscovered a basic Biblical truth about being the
Church. When it comes to disciple
making, less is more. Effective churches
like the Acts church choose to do fewer things, but have a clear strategy and
do those few things well. When the
church exploded after Pentecost, the writer of Acts tells us they “devoted
themselves” to only four critical practices: study, fellowship, worship, and
prayer. These weren’t the only things
they did, but everything else they did flowed naturally out of lives that were
transformed through the four critical practices. Of those four primary practices that were
critical to transforming ordinary people into extraordinary followers of Jesus,
the most surprising is surely fellowship.
At least as we have currently come to understand and practice it in most
mainline United Methodist churches.
There is always some question as to whether our language reveals or
shapes something (it is probably both). Many
of us grew up in or still attend churches that had/have a “social hall”. Which was/is an appropriate name, considering
it seems to me that in large part we have come to substitute social gatherings
in the church for what the early church and the early Methodist would have
called fellowship. The result is that
fellowship as a critical discipline for disciple making has been largely
lost. What happens in most social halls
is socialization. Socialization is
important to our humanity, it fills the need for companionship, but it doesn’t necessarily
contribute to discipleship, even if it takes place in a church. Don’t get me wrong, I love family night
suppers, but the best I can tell, they aren’t Biblical fellowship. As we shall see over the next three weeks,
they lack intentional community, accountability, a common destination,
encouragement, and admonishment. In
short, there is little “watching over one another in love” that characterized
the early Methodist class meeting (their version of fellowship). This misunderstanding of fellowship is one
reason that it has become a commonly held belief that you don’t have to be a
part of a church to be a Christian. The
need for socialization is filled elsewhere. Lest this sound too critical of the church
today, it has apparently always been easy to neglect this critical discipline. The writer of Hebrews had to remind the early
Christians, “And let us consider how to
provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as
is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see
the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)
Today many people who are serious about following Jesus are rediscovering
fellowship as they find their way back into small groups who meet regularly to
“watch over one another in love”.
Practice: This week read Acts 2:42-47 and review your
church’s ministry of “fellowship” through that model and see if you are really
practicing the Biblical discipline of “fellowship”.
Leave a Reply