Thus far, as I've been walking through our new catchphrase, I've focused primarily on how we go about the first two words. How do we connect as God's people, and how do God's people connect in the community around them? However, we simply cannot stop there. If we do, then we basically admit that we are no different from any other group of people, faith based or not, in the world.
It's the last two words of the catchphrase that truly matter. When it comes to God's people being a community that connects together, they do so in Christ. Yes, it is wonderful that we have so many other kinds of connections with our brothers and sisters in Christ, but we could have those same connections if we met as a group of shoppers, or bowlers, or Buddhists, or Muslims, or Christians. The thing that makes the connections of God's community significant is that those connections are based in Christ.
Sadly, I have come to believe that this is strangely absent in so many of our gatherings as God's people. We come together for events such as worship, but outside of those, it seems that we don't build up each other in our connection in Christ nearly enough. Our community connects together because we are in Christ. When we connect together, it is Christ who has connected us to one another. We share a common faith, planted in us in a common baptism, which connects us to a common Savior, Jesus.
When we come together in connection as a community, you really would expect our connection in Christ to be at the center of our discussion and activity. Perhaps the best way to think about this is if we compared it to another community. Let's say you were a community connected in bowling. Sure, you may talk about other things as you connect, but what is going to be a significant part of your time together? If you don't talk about bowling, or recent bowling experiences, or recent games, or discussions on how to work around that 7-10 split, something is strangely absent. And if you don't actually bowl, something really is missing.
As we think about our community that connects together in Christ, do we find that this connection comes up with a great deal of regularity or not? If it doesn't, what gets in the way of our connection in Christ coming up? How can we work around those obstacles to bring Christ back into the center of our community? These are questions that we will be addressing as we move forward as a people who are "Connecting Community And Christ."
It's the last two words of the catchphrase that truly matter. When it comes to God's people being a community that connects together, they do so in Christ. Yes, it is wonderful that we have so many other kinds of connections with our brothers and sisters in Christ, but we could have those same connections if we met as a group of shoppers, or bowlers, or Buddhists, or Muslims, or Christians. The thing that makes the connections of God's community significant is that those connections are based in Christ.
Sadly, I have come to believe that this is strangely absent in so many of our gatherings as God's people. We come together for events such as worship, but outside of those, it seems that we don't build up each other in our connection in Christ nearly enough. Our community connects together because we are in Christ. When we connect together, it is Christ who has connected us to one another. We share a common faith, planted in us in a common baptism, which connects us to a common Savior, Jesus.
When we come together in connection as a community, you really would expect our connection in Christ to be at the center of our discussion and activity. Perhaps the best way to think about this is if we compared it to another community. Let's say you were a community connected in bowling. Sure, you may talk about other things as you connect, but what is going to be a significant part of your time together? If you don't talk about bowling, or recent bowling experiences, or recent games, or discussions on how to work around that 7-10 split, something is strangely absent. And if you don't actually bowl, something really is missing.
As we think about our community that connects together in Christ, do we find that this connection comes up with a great deal of regularity or not? If it doesn't, what gets in the way of our connection in Christ coming up? How can we work around those obstacles to bring Christ back into the center of our community? These are questions that we will be addressing as we move forward as a people who are "Connecting Community And Christ."
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