The Spirit & the Community

You may remember a week or so ago that I guest blogged at another site, or I suppose you may not remember. Well, I opted to carry the post over here, you know, just to fill some space until my overdue Hymn of the Week and much needed football posts come around. I originally wrote this late Friday the 1st and early Saturday the 2nd of September. As I reread it I'm not all that happy with it, but it's something to discuss and ponder.

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Here are two stories about my church community from the past week.

1. The last couple days are some of the craziest in the city of Boston. With over 300,000 students in this small city (it really doesn’t cover much land), and most moving in or out on the same day, this week can be one of the most frustrating of the year. Nothing works out as planned, and you can forget about meals at normal times or sleeping the recommended amount (I got 7 hours of sleep in two days and skipped dinner 2 nights in a row). It just won’t happen.

Last night I got a phone call from a young lady in my church. She and her roommate had hoped to avoid the craziness of this day by hiring movers to transport their stuff, a plan that the rest of us had admired. The movers were to arrive around noon- I got a call over 6 hours later and was told that they hadn’t arrived. The landlord was screaming at them to get out and they had few options. The option they did have, however, was to ask for help from their friends from church. Before you knew it, there were 15 people (most of whom were already tired and sore from moving themselves and others for the last 2 days) bringing couches, desks, a piano (curse that piano!) and other odds and ends down the steps and into a giant truck that one of the church members donated for the evening. Odd as it sounds, it was actually a lot of fun. And of course the steak quesadilla I got to eat didn’t hurt.

2. This past Sunday 40 or so people from my church gathered in an apartment to say goodbye to 2 dear sisters. We sent these 2 out as missionaries to serve an existing church planting team, they will be gone for 1 year. At one point during the evening we gathered into the living room (yes, it was as cramped as it sounds) to have a time of encouragement and prayer for these 2 young ladies. We laughed, we cried, we shared stories and Scriptures. It was a bittersweet moment for all of us, happy to send two of our own out to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, sad to see them leave our fellowship.

As I looked around the crowd of people loving these two, I thought about some of the folks in the room. I saw some who have had their hearts broken and were cared for by others in that room. I saw some who have felt rejected all their lives and have found acceptance by others in that room. I saw some who have had wonderful times of rejoicing (weddings, engagements, babies, new jobs) and celebrated with others in that room. I saw some who have been depressed, stuck in sin and on the verge of giving up who have been loved by others in that room. The truth is that there is no community like the community of God.

That shouldn’t be surprising, though, given the fact that the Spirit of the Living God dwells within this community. Think about that for a second, the Spirit that hovered over the earth during creation, the Spirit who descended upon Christ like a dove, the Spirit who came upon the church at Pentecost like tongues of fire is the same Spirit who dwells within each heart of those who believe in Christ. It is the Spirit of God that binds us together. The community of God is powerful, and empowering, because it is empowered by the Holy Spirit. As my associate pastor is fond of saying, “the great thing about us is the One who is among us.”

This small community of believers in the city of Boston has been a powerful force in the lives of many. It isn’t because we are smart, good looking and uber-spiritual. We haven’t concocted some secret formula that makes us holy, we haven’t passed out copies of the latest Christian self-help book at our services. We have been able to bless others because we are blessed with the presence of the Living God.

We most certainly aren’t perfect, I’d be willing to bet that every person involved in the 2 stories I shared have been hurt by someone else in our church, including myself. That is, unfortunately, a part of life together. But we’ve also learned how to love and forgive each other. We’ve learned that where the Spirit of God is, there is community.

Consider some of Paul’s teachings for a moment.

When Paul was dealing with the division between Jew and Gentile believers he teaches us that the Spirit brings God’s people together. “For through Him [Christ] we both [Jew and Gentile] have access to the Father by one Spirit” (Eph 2:18). “And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit” (Eph 2:22, italics mine).

The Spiritual gift of prophesy is used to edify the church (1 Cor 14:5), in fact, Paul urges the Corinthians “since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church” (1 Cor 14:12), that is, rather than seeking personal gain. Regardless of whether or not you think spiritual gifts are still in use today, you can see the point that the believer can build up the church by the power of the Spirit.

Compare Ephesians 5:18-21 and Colossians 3:16-17 and you see how the believer, by being filled with the Spirit, can encourage, admonish, and teach others through songs and music. Again, the result of being Spirit-filled is worship and teaching that is community driven, not self seeking.

The Spirit in the heart of the believer is the restorative force amongst the people of God. Right after he lists some of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23), Paul states, “if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual [that is, living by the Spirit in the manner Paul just talked about] should restore him gently” (6:1).

My point is that when the Spirit of God is present, there should be unity and community. We are bound together by the Spirit of the Living God, that bond is far greater than cheering the same baseball team or voting for the same politician. We (and I’m speaking of all Christians here) are enabled to love each other will a sacrificial and selfless love because we have been showed love. This is nothing we can do on our own; any self-made work will surely falter in the long run. It amazes me that a group of sinful and depraved people can be brought together to worship and serve the Lord. Truly the great thing about us is the One who lives among us.