An Open and Closed Case - The Two Sides of Community

Marriage Matters took a break from our study of Mark to take a look at the two sides of community. Pastor Kim was our guest speaker and shared about his passion: community and inclusiveness. The rest of these notes are pretty much copied from his handout in class.

Biblical Basis for Community

• The Triune God exists in community and we are made in His image (Genesis 1:26)
• The cross levels all barriers and is the basis for our unity and community (Acts 10:34-35; Ephesians 2:11-12; Ephesians 3:6)
• The church is made up of members who are interdependent on one another (1 Corinthians 12:12)
• Spiritual growth takes place as we interact with God's Word in the context of community (Ephesians 4:15-16)

Community Spaces

Type of Space	Public	Social	Personal	Private
Size of Group	100 Plus	13 - 100	2 - 12	1 - 2
Jesus' Example	Crowds	70	The 12 disciples	Peter, James, and John
Connecting through sharing...	A common experience	Snapshots of who we are	Private experiences, feelings, and thoughts	Intimate experiences, feelings, and thoughts
New Covenant Environments	Front Porch	Living Room	Kitchen Table
New Covenant Ministries	Worship Service	Adult Bible Fellowship	Small Group
Ratio	8	4	2	1
Relationally	Open - Bridging	Closed - Bonding

Assumptions

• People grow best in healthy community.
• People connect in all four spaces, not just in one or two.
• All four spaces are valued and important.
• Harmony among all four spaces builds healthy community in individuals and organizations.
• Community happens spontaneously. People search for spontaneous community, not forced belonging.
• We can facilitate environments that help people connect.
• People are looking for friends, not a friendly church.

Hospitality

• Leviticus 19:33-34
• Luke 15:1-2
• Romans 12:9-16
• 1 Peter 4:8-10

Application
As an ABF, how can we practice hospitality?

• Intentionally look for people who you can invite to your ABF
• Use name tags
• Acknowledge guests
• Use ice breaker questions to help new guests get snapshots of who you are
• Invite guests to return
• Go first, set the pace, and be real
• Send a note to first time guests, thanking them for coming
• Get to know those who are new and connect them with others who have like interests
• Don't huddle with your friends
• Handle prayer time with sensitivity
• Provide meals, care, notes, personal touch
• Host an ABF Open House and invite guests

We shape environments, as opposed to creating groups. When the environment is healthy, people will find connection on their own and form groups spontaneously. This approach gives freedom and responsibility to individuals, because people will experience belonging and a sense that this helps them with their life. It also helps keep our controlling nature at bay. - Joseph Myers, The Search to Belong

Christian brotherhood is not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate. The more clearly we learn to recognize that the ground and strength and promise of all our fellowship is in Jesus Christ alone, the more serenely shall we think of our fellowship and pray and hope for it. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

Kim gave us a challenge tonight--not that he necessarily meant it as a challenge, but as a statement of fact: In open social spaces, Christ-followers should be the most inclusive people on Earth.

How's that work? For some ideas and to get infected with excitement for community, check out Kim's blog. Or throw out your ideas and questions in the comments.

Kim, thank you for investing your time in our class--both the preparation and the time you spent teaching us.

Does God Care?

Mark 4:35-5:43 is a series of 3 or 4 stories, depending on how you count them. But all of the stories address one common doubt: does God care?

Before Jesus calmed the storm, he was asleep in the stern of the boat. The disciples, experienced fishermen, were afraid. The storm surely had something to do with it, but their real fear was that Jesus didn't care.

After Jesus drove the legion of demons out of the man and into the herd of pigs, the pigs drowned themselves. The people in the town didn't doubt that Jesus had power, but after seeing their economic loss, they did doubt that he cared about them.

The synagogue ruler, Jairus, came to Jesus out of desperation. His daughter was dying. Jesus agreed to go with him, but stopped in the street to find out who touched him. Jesus spent time talking with the woman he had just healed, and meanwhile, Jairus was told that his daughter had died. The text doesn't say what Jairus did or said, but I would certainly have doubted that Jesus really cared if I had been in Jairus's place.

As for the woman that Jesus healed, I would not be at all surprised to discover that she had, at some point in her twelve years of suffering, doubted that God cared about her.

In all of these stories, Jesus showed that he really did care. He calmed the storm, left the worried townspeople alone, healed the woman, and raised Jairus's daughter.

Then again, the woman's story had been twelve years in the making. Mark just wrote about the end of it. The takeaway from our class discussion is that God really is in control of your situation, and that God really does care, even if things are getting worse.

The Kingdom of God Grows

Jesus tells four parables (and explains one) in Mark 4:1-34. They're fairly familiar parables, about sowing seed on different soils, putting lamps on lampstands instead of under baskets, seeds that grow while you sleep, and mustard seeds.

Parables are stories that are intended to make an impact on and stick with an audience, in a way that a list of bullet points can't. For a story to have an impact, we need to understand the point of the story--much like we need to understand a joke to find it funny. There has been a lot written about interpreting parables, but here are two important tasks:

1. Identify points of reference: the parts of the story with which the audience would identify as it is being told.
2. Identify audience: how the original hearers would have identified with the story (i.e. what they would have heard).

All four parables we looked at had something to do with growth, and the Parable of the Mustard Seed made it clear that the thing growing is the Kingdom of God. As part of the Kingdom of God, we contribute to that growth--not by our own self-efforts, as Pastor Bob preached tonight--but by following the promptings of the Holy Spirit and through the new nature that we have in Christ.

How does knowing that you are a part of the growing Kingdom of God, and will somehow contribute to that growth, affect the way you will live your life?