Have you ever used the phrase: “this church isn’t meeting my needs,” or, “I just don’t feel plugged in,” or “I’m struggling to connect”? Perhaps the problem isn’t a lack of community, but our perception of what community is supposed to look like. That’s the issue Jason Helopoulos tackles in his trending piece, Disillusionment with the Church.
Jason believes our problems in fellowship often come from a poor understanding of what connects us as Christians. “The foundation of our fellowship is not the feelings we have for one another, as important as they may be,” Jason writes. “Neither is the foundation of our fellowship based upon the fact that we live in the same geographic place, educate our children in the same way, hold similar political views, or are the same ethnicity. No. It is the Gospel that is the foundation of our fellowship. Nothing else. It is truth rooted and founded in the person and work of Christ that lays the structure, creates the realm, and the reality of our union with one another.”
Crosswalk contributor Michael Milton echoes these thoughts in his article, The Joy of Fellowship in the Church. Like James, Michael sees the real joy of fellowship coming not from making connections with people who are similar to you, but rather serving others regardless of how they can meet your needs. “Do you see yourself with the primary identification as a servant to the rest of the body of Christ and the world?
Have you ever felt bitter towards your church?
Take a minute to do a heart check. Ask God to forgive you if you’ve made fellowship more about what others can do for you, rather than what you can do to serve others and God,” he says.
Source: iBelieve.com; Crosswalk.com
BIBLE STUDY: Acts 20:32-38
PRAISE: God for the Church, Christ’s Body. Pray that we may all discover our calling to serve Christ.