Wi

Series: Wiii Church
September 14, 2008

Last week I told you that like the Wii Game system that has revolutionized gaming, the Wiii Church series is going to revolutionize the way you see, understand, experience and “do” church. Like our series trailer reads, the church is where we are loved, where we find our purpose, where we belong. Last week we had to end in a bit of a rush because the band played too long. We ended by just skimming over this passage, and I want to go back to it now as we get into it today.

Remember the church this has just been born. Not built. It has just come into existence, not because people built a cathedral, not because they organized themselves into committees, not because they created a system of church government or church order. People, men and women, young and old, slaves and free, Jews and gentiles, became the church when they heard the message of Jesus, when they believed that he was and is the Son of God, that he died for their sins, that he rose from the grave, that he ascended into heaven, that he will come back again. They became the church when they embraced this message and the Holy Spirit came upon them and into their lives. The church was born because the church is organic, the church is living, and the church is me and you and everyone who puts their faith in Jesus Christ. They immediately became a part of they mystical union of their life to Jesus Christ, and their lives together in Jesus Christ.

This happened when a man named Peter preached to a multitude of people and 3000 people were saved. The church jumped from a group of about 150, to 3150 in one day. And so we have established that his is church- what we are doing here. Gathering in the Lord’s Day, gathering publicly in worship to sing, to pray, to preach, and to invite people to give their lives to Jesus. And likewise we pray that Connections might see 3000 people and more put come to Jesus, be it over the weeks and months, and even in a single gathering. We see no reason not to do church like this- out in the public, for everyone to hear the good news, to be a blessing to our community and everyone we meet.

But this is just the beginning, because that first day of the church was just the beginning. This is what happened next…

Acts 2:42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Look at verse 44, “All the believers were together and had everything in common.” THIS IS THE REVOLUTION- when church stops being something that you do, or just something that you go to. The revolution starts when we become the church, so the church goes with us everywhere we go. SO that when we gather we are the church, and when we go we are still every bit as much the church. This is about getting into the second part of our mission, connecting with people. This is about that second leg of our three-legged stand. Take this away, or cut it short, and the whole thing falls.

Together is a great word. Remember that scene from Gladiator, when they are thrown into the coliseum to fight the soldiers on chariots. Maximus, or whatever his name was, tells them to stay together. But that one dude who is so huge stands his own ground. He can’t watch his own back, so he takes an arrow in the back of his leg. It is then that he realizes his situation. Stand-alone and die, or stick together, and maybe, just maybe, live. He joins the team. They defeat the soldiers, and there is much rejoicing. It’s like that goofy clip we watched earlier- stick with the pack, or get eaten alive.

I’m terrible alone. I really am. I wouldn’t say I’m extremely extroverted, but I’m terrible alone. When I got married all of my needs for socialization, affirmation and entertainment where heaped entire on Robin. I nearly suffocated her by my all-consuming need to be connected. We started having babies just show she could have some other people around the house to deal with me! Now I’m miserable if I’m not together with my family, or if they’re not with me. We have to ask ourselves, all goofiness and gladiators aside, is that really true? Live together or die alone. Find community and find life, or venture out on you own and be killed.

And I’m going to say yes, yes it is true. You know you need other people. You know you need together. You know you need community. You know you need connection. You know that you will die if you try to go it on your own. But almost unfortunately for us is that we won’t be taken out of misery swift and fast like getting eaten by a lion. We’ll probably end up dying a long, slow, lonely, sad, depressing withering away, estranged from people, cut off from community, kind of death.

Hebrews 10 tells us this,

23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Now let me put this into a framework for us. This comes from a book called the Connecting Church, and it’s about to become our way of doing the church together in small groups. There are three ingredients that have to be in place for a group of people to connect. Three ingredients to really become a connecting church. Common Purpose, Common Place, and “Common Possessions, but please don’t freak about that yet, I’ll freak you out about that later.

Common Purpose. We are born into a culture of that esteems the individual over everything else. But what people discover after trying to live a lifetime for themselves, is that they actually want to live for something more. And they long, we long, for a common purpose to bind us together. This is common to human experience. People know this. We use phrases like, “if you don’t find something to die for you have nothing to live for.” And it’s true. We will find a purpose for our lives, the only question is, what purpose?

The church from day one gathered around a common purpose, and that purpose was really a person- Jesus. The purpose of knowing, loving and living for Jesus. Our purpose is to become Christians, little Christ’s. Our purpose is to become Christ-like in everything, because we believe that being Christ-like is simple the best way to live. Jesus showed us perfectly how to love God and love our neighbors. Jesus healed the sick, feed the hungry, loved the outcasts, changed lives and saved lives. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice and gave his life for us. We believe the best purpose, hands down, bar none, is being Christ like. That’s the common purpose that holds us together.

Common Place. Because we are born into a culture that esteems the individual, individuals often end up on a path of isolation. People have never lived closer together physically, but lived more apart socially. We have our own cars and cubicles and Internet connection and we isolate ourselves. We need a place. We long for a place to belong. If I asked you, where is home? Some of you immediately know. Home is where you grew up, because you grew up in the same house with the same people and it’s still your home. For some you know what home is, but it’s in the past. You left home along time ago, and you’ve been a wandering ever since. For some of you home has always been somewhere on the horizon. You’ve looked for it, longed for it, but never found it. I am always amazed at the power of home.

I have three kids, and the power of place in their lives is amazing. I thought I was a grounded person. My folks still live in the same house I grew up in. But I left that house 18 years ago, and I have never lived there since, and I have never lived anywhere more than 5 years since. School, work grad school, first church, now here. I have lost my place, but I still long for it, and now my family and have made the decision to try and make our place here, because we need a place. You need a place. We need a common place to connect and live and be neighbors.

Common Possessions. Isolated individuals naturally tend toward their own accumulation of stuff, or, materialism. Our culture and economy are entirely based upon making you and I the consumers of stuff. But this is no way to live, and many people are starting to catch on. Now they are “Freegains” living among us! Actually, I’m one of them. I pulled a mower out of the garbage the other day!

Here’s the thing- this is the part that is going to freak most people out, and to honest, it freaks me out. This is the most counter-cultural and cult-like quality of connection. But I’m not talking about a cult here. We’re not talking about starting a commune, though you can choose that life. We’re not talking about giving it all away, but you can give everything away. We are talking about a basic understanding that we don’t belong to our stuff, but our stuff belongs to us, and the best way to enjoy stuff is always in community. The best way to enjoy life is through sharing, support and generosity.

When we find a people with whom we have a common purpose, with whom we share a common place, we can get on to living a life of common possessions. That is as simply, and as messy, as sharing in life together. It is as radical as giving to church, and as simple as sharing a meal. And you want this. I know because you want to be generous people. It comes down to this truth- none of us really think we are materialistic, but to varying degrees we are materialistic, but you know some people who are really materialistic, and you don’t like them. And materialistic people don’t really like themselves. But you also know some really generous people, and you like them, and you want to be like them, because you don’t know, and will never meet, a generous person who wasn’t a happy person and the kind of person people want to be around. Think about it, and you will agree!

So how are we going to be a Connecting Church with Common Purpose, Place and Possessions? Through Connection Groups!

Here’s how is works: We will break our year into three semesters: Pre-season, Hockey season, and play-offs. Or as other places in the world call them, Fall, Winter, and Summer. CG’s will run each semester with clearly defined starting and stopping dates, and breaks in between. You will the opportunity to jump into groups at the start of each semester, then rest, and then sign up again. We aren’t going to constantly be putting CG’s in your face, but three times each year we are going to encourage you will all we have to get into a group.

Groups will be made up of 10-12 people. Groups that don’t reach this number can stay open for registration or combine with another smaller group. We want groups large enough that there is created a comfortable social environment.

Groups are organized geographically throughout the city. You are encouraged to join the group closest to you that meet at a time that works for you. We want groups to meet geographically because we want you to be able to really be neighbors, and have a presence in your neighborhood. We want groups to be geographical instead of generational. We want young and old to gather together. If this means that there are little kids in your group, then work it out. Everyone chip in a buck and get a sitter. If it means you have older kids in your group, include them in an opening prayer and bible reading. Then let them go and play in traffic.

Groups will do deeper into the Sunday worship experience, discussing the text and topics that we cover here. Sermons are posted online, both audio and manuscripts. Small group questions will be posted online if you miss the service. Questions will be printed right in you program for your convenience.

We will offer a few select focus groups. But this we mean some groups will focus on a particular topic, need or stage. For example, we are offering ALPHA, a 12-week introduction to the Christian life. This designed to cover all the basics of our faith and is the perfect place for you to go if you want to explore Christianity or get a brush up on the basics.

You can expect each group to have 4 things: Food, prayer, teaching, and socializing. You will be asked to make a commitment to the group for the semester. You will be asked to provide feedback on the experience, letting us know what’s working, and what needs fixed. You can expect us to do everything we can to make these groups a positive, amazing, even life-changing experience.

Now, I can’t make you do this, but I wish I could. Because you need this and you will be blessed by this and you will be a better person for doing this and you will be a blessing to others in doing this. But I can’t make you. I challenge you, no, I dare you, I double dare you, I double dog dare you to give this a semester give this a try. You want it.

We’ve had friends, and they’ve let us down. We’ve had marriages, and they’ve broken. We’ve joined groups or clubs, and they did more to hurt us than help us. And some people have been a part of churches that did more to mess than up that bring them grace, hope and love. But all of us have had little bits and tastes of community and connection, enough to make us desperately hungry for more, but also wondering where we can find it. Like an appetizer that should whet our appetites for a great meal, we’ve had the taste, but we want the meal, the want the full course. And we have created the buffet for you here today.

I can promise that if you put very little into this, you’ll get very little out of it. But that if you put yourself into this, you might get a whole lot out of it.

I can promise you that if you do this, you’re taking a step in the right direction. You’ll be taking a step towards community, towards healing, towards connection.

I can’t promise that you’ll find your best friends in the world, and these relationships will last a lifetime, and if you’re single you’ll find your spouse, but I can promise you’ll meet some amazing people, because I meet so may of you, and you really are some amazing people.

I can’t promise that you won’t be disappointed, discouraged, let down, or even have some significant struggles with your group. I know this because I know many of you, and as wonderful as you are, you’re also really messed up! But I can promise that you can find the opportunity to extend forgiveness, to show people grace, to work out trying to love each other as Christ loved you and gave his life for you.

I can’t promise that you’ll have every problem and every issue in your life solved by Christmas. These groups aren’t your private counseling session. Your facilitators aren’t going to hold up Rorschach ink bog tests, say tell me about your mother, and engage in electro shock therapy. But I can promise that you’ll taste a positive, Christ-center gathering of people who are praying and working to foster a healing environment. I can promise you’ll laugh, or at least laugh at the group after you leave. You’ll share life and socialize together.

I can promise that when you gather together in homes, that you are doing what the church has done from the moment it was born. I promise that when you gather together in Jesus’ name, he is there. I promise that when Jesus is there, you are his body, and you are the church.

And I know this- and it sounds like a guilt trip, but I don’t want it to be a guilt trip, I just believe it’s the truth, if you aren’t a part of a group, you are robbing yourself of what could be one of the most awesome things in your life. And more, you are robbing others of your gifts, of your grace, of your beauty. And I don’t want to be robbed of getting to know you. And I don’t want you to be robbed of getting to know me.

If you’re ready to sign up, go ahead, write your name, mark your group, and hand in the card when you leave. If you have some questions go see Mark and some of our other leaders. Ask them anything at all, even how to drywall your basement. I’m going to pray. You fill in your cards. The band is going to take us out in song.