This Sunday we watched the second of two sessions by Louie Giglio in his DVD called Indescribable. Each DVD really strikes a cord as we consider the size of our God’s power, grace, and love.
We are reminded that God is big, and we are small.
We are reminded “the universe is one of God’s thoughts”, but so are you.
We are reminded that as insignificant as we are in comparison to the universe, we are made significant in the eyes of God by the love and sacrifice of Christ.
During our time of community praise we sang:
Indescribable
I Boast No More
May Your Wonders Never Cease
After our Gathering we had a family meeting to lay out our plan for church membership:
Church membership is something that is often abused by the church, and seen as suspicious to the unchurched. It is a shame, because being a apart of a church community was intended by God to be a beautiful, encouraging, and healthy relationship. God refers to the relationship by drawing attention to our relationship between our general body, and our specific body parts. Each serves the other selflessly. Each grows when the other is healthy. Each holds the other accountable. Each struggles or even ceases to exist without the other. The church is accountable to God to help the growth and spiritual development of its members. Equally, members are accountable to God that they serve the body with their talents and engiftments.
Let me be very clear: your name on a piece of paper does not make you the member of a church, any more than me writing “arm” on a piece of paper makes it part of my body. Membership is an actionable commitment. I am a member of the body I serve. When I serve a body it is a beautiful and God glorifying relationship that Christ died to make possible.
Let me also say: To all those out there who claim they don’t need a church to be christian, I have bad news…you are apart of the church. Anyone who claims Christ is apart of the church. The question is simply which local, tax exempt, non profit, incorporated, group of Christ followers are you going to commit to act in, and be apart of. Any body part will stuggle apart from a local body. God built you to need community, and when you don’t pursue it you not only rob some local church of your talents, and engiftments, you are robbed a a beautiful relationship that grows, struggles, wrestles, serves, fights, lives, gives, and experiences together, called the church. It is the most beautiful (and messy) thing on the planet today.
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