Individual Entry: Doing Church (Part 2)
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January 15, 2006

Faith : Doing Church (Part 2)

The best church I was ever part of wasn't actually a church ­ at least not in the way most people think of "church". We had no name, no formal organization, no official leaders, no building, no program. We were just a gathering of Christians. That's all; but that was more than enough.

We were a bunch of Christian friends who were actually members of at least three different churches (one Catholic, one Baptist, and one Pentecostal). How we all came to be friends is a long story which I'll not share here other than to say that this was not something that was deliberately organized by any person (other than God). No one set out to create an interdenominational group of Christian friends, it just happened. At its peak, I think there were about 30 of us who had all become friends with each other.

We all attended our separate church meetings on Sunday and whenever else they occurred (for instance, the Baptist church had a mid-week prayer meetings). But as friends do, we'd get together with each other through the week. Someone would call someone else and ask "Hey, you want to get together tonight?", and after a bit of phone tag you'd usually you'd find 6-8 people who were free that night and you'd get together at someone's house. It would be different people on different nights, depending on who was available and interested. I recall I joined in an average of once a week, although the sense I had was that some subset of the group got together just about every night. There was no one actually organizing this, so it's hard to know.

Now most groups of friends have some common interests which drive what they do when they get together. I've been part of one group of friends who liked to play games, and so when we got together we'd play games. Other groups of friends go to movies together, or watch sports. Well, the common interest of this group of friends was that we were all Christians, and so when we got together, we would share our faith. We'd sit together and talk and sing and pray and eat and talk some more. One person might comment on a Bible verse they had read that week that they didn't understand, and other people would explain what they thought it meant. Or someone might have read something really cool in the Bible and would talk about it. Another person might talk about a problem they were having and the rest of the people would pray for them. Someone might share a story about how they were telling a co-worker about Jesus. Another person might talk about what they thought God was doing, or share some specific insight with the group. There was usually someone who could play the guitar and when the conversation slowed down we'd sing a song or two and get back to talking.

Now that might not sound a lot like "a church" to some people; but I believe that in every respect that God cares about, it was a church, and a great one at that. We were a people who were connected with God and with each other. We were a community that worshiped God, ministered to each other, and supported each other in sharing our faith with others. The only thing I would expect from a church now that I don't recall us doing then was caring for the needy in the community.

Now after doing this for a year or two, certain patterns emerged. Some people were good at praying for each other. Others were good at leading singing. Others opened their homes up for us to meet in (and usually provided food as well). There were people who were good at explaining things ­- they were the teachers. There were people who kept good track of how people were doing and made sure they were getting help if they needed it -­ they were the pastors. There were people who seemed to have a sense of the "big picture" of what God was doing ­- they were the apostles. Other folks always seemed to have more specific, short-term direction -­ they were the prophets. Still others were always talking about who they were sharing the gospel with ­- the evangelists. No one used those titles; but we all knew after a while who to talk to about what. What's more important is that everyone did something. We were friends first and foremost, so everyone joined in the conversations, everyone participated.

Now the sad part of the story is that after I moved out of that area, some of the group tried to actually create a "real" independent church together. Within a few years they got caught up in some Christian fad movement and ended up lost in the doctrinal weeds. Last I heard several had become so discouraged that they'd given up on Christianity all together. But for a while, there was a church that God created his own way, and it was wonderful.

Posted by Steven at January 15, 2006 04:07 PM

Comments

Posted by: Deacon & Usher at June 27, 2008 11:56 AM

Posted by: Tina at December 1, 2009 10:55 AM

Posted by: Tina at December 1, 2009 10:56 AM

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