Previous Sermons

When Katlyn and I found out we were expecting another child, I thought to myself: we’re experts by now, what’s three kids compared to two? I mean, of course, we train our kids well, we get plenty of sleep, and we know what to expect. For me, I was not thinking of the verse where it says: “God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.” When Lucas arrived on scene, I can’t explain to you how hard things felt. He struggled with sleeping, he was unhappy most of the time, and I was convinced our poor son would never be content. To put it simply, we felt defeated even as we were so thankful to have another son. As we adjusted to life as a team of five, our connect group blessed us with prayer and encouragement. The Palmers brought us amazing enchiladas, Tammy got us Chick-Fil-A delivered, the Deardorffs faithfully prayed and coordinated efforts to help, Sue would often hold Lucas while he was fussy so Katlyn could eat, and Debbie played and interacted with our two other kids.

All that to say, those people’s kindness helped us through a really tough season – it wasn’t just a one-off event, it was an ongoing kindness that they displayed to us. And I’m thankful for it.

This experience made me wonder: how do folks without a robust support system ever make it through a hard season? On a Sunday morning, you may not have noticed that we were struggling but our group noticed. So I have a question (SLIDE): if your life fell apart tomorrow, who would be there for you and walk alongside you? Who can you let your guard down with instead of pretending everything is fine?

Today, we’ll be discussing a shift in the way our church makes disciples. Specifically, we’ll be talking about a shift with groups and give a brief picture of where we’re heading. And to set the stage, I’ll be reading from Acts 2:42-47 which may be a familiar passage for you.

Will you stand with me, if you’re able, as we read God’s Word?

I also need to be honest with you – there’s lot that could be said about all these verses. But, I’m just going to focus on two specific things because they’re most pressing for us today.

The Four Devotions

In Verse 42, it said the believers were devoted to four things. (SLIDE) If you’re feeling like, “great, another sermon about how I need to try harder.” My friends, that’s not what I’m talking about. Dallas Willard helpfully reminds us (SLIDE): “grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude of trying to merit God's favor, while effort is an action of cooperating with God. You do not work to be saved, but you do train to be transformed.” That means we don’t earn God’s love, we simply receive it for the free gift that it is. BUT, we also train like an athlete trains (Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 9) to become more like Christ. We devote ourselves to practices so that we may grow in an even deeper appreciation of God’s free love.

So, the early believers made every effort to practice four things:

1.      Apostolic Teaching

2.    Fellowship

3.    Breaking of Bread

4.   Prayer.

We’re going to tackle these briefly, one at a time:

1.      Apostolic Teaching: this was dedicated space to what the early leaders in the church were teaching about Jesus and his Kingdom. They would discuss the Old Testament, Messianic promises, and how they were to live their lives in a pagan society. The point is this: their focus was on Jesus and obeying what Jesus taught. They didn’t just talk the talk, they walked the walk.

2.    Fellowship:  this goes deeper than a fifth Sunday fellowship meal. The type of fellowship is this unique sharing that believers have with God and with each other. That meant the early believers could be real with each other and share their struggles and their joys. Why? They have received the free gift of God’s grace which frees them from the sinful trap of pride and judgement. Remember how I was feeling prideful that 3 kids would be super easy? This deep fellowship brings about humility because you have to admit your weaknesses. We encourage each other in obedience but never think we’re a more serious Christian than someone else if we’re further along. We carry each other’s burdens because that’s what Christ did for us. We celebrate each other’s joys because that’s what Christ does for us.

3.    Breaking of Bread: In Acts, most folks generally agree that breaking of bread points to: a shared meal together as well as communion. The two happen together – communion reminds us of Christ’s sacrifice that brings unity into the church. And the shared meal together is where real fellowship, real sharing, and real relationships can take place.  It’s essential to a healthy community of believers. The Table is a sacred place in the Scriptures – after all, Revelation points us to a future reality where we will be seated at a table at a banquet put on by Jesus. And when we sit together at a table today, we’re practicing what our eternity will look like and bringing a little bit of heaven down to earth.

4.   Prayer: the believers would pray for each other – pray for breakthroughs and boldness in their lives. As they shared real life with each other, they took the time to commit to pray each other rather than just saying: “I’ll be praying for you.” Does that mean believers stumbled through awkward prayers or felt completely incapable of praying? You bet. Did God still respond to those prayers? You bet. The community was marked by a commitment to prayer for each other which is how they loved each other but also prayer for others to come to faith in Christ.

Those are the four devotions of the early believers. So, my question is: how do we stack up as believers? Are these devotions present in our church life today? Could we become even more devoted to these four practices? I want us too – why? Look at the fruit: they ate with glad and sincere hearts while praising God. They were there for each other. I want that for every single person here. And Acts 2 shows us what the church was like in its healthiest moment. If you know Acts well, you’ll know that the rest of the story shows some real challenges in the church. But, Acts 2 is a moment of what’s possible when a group of believers are devoted to these four things.

There’s one other area where Acts 2 can teach us something today. We described the four practices the believers were devoted to but where did they happen? Verse 46 gives us that answer.

Two Rooms ((SLIDE)

What does verse 46 say? Every day, they continued to meet together in the Temple AND they broke bread in their homes. Why both places? Was one better than the other? No, they needed both.

They gathered at the temple for group teaching and then scattered into houses across the city. They weren’t all at one house because there were over 3,000 believers at this time.

So even at its healthiest moment, the church needed two meeting spaces: one for larger gatherings and one for smaller, more intimate gatherings. In the larger gatherings, they would follow a format similar to what we follow today and what Jewish worship in the Synagogue would practice: a time of singing, the reading of the word, a sermon or reflection, and prayer. There are opportunities for people to use their spiritual gifts. But, at the same time, larger gatherings make it more difficult to experience richer fellowship with each other, to really practice loving and serving one another, and point people to Jesus based on their unique circumstances.

So, that’s why the church would have two meeting spaces. So, who wants to begin meeting daily as a community? I kid but this gives us an idea that both spaces have immense value in our discipleship journey and community life. We can become so protective of our me time that we instead become lonely, we need community. We ask ourselves: what am I getting out of it instead of what do I have to give? Let’s be participants, not consumers. Acts 2 doesn’t dictate that we meet daily but it gives us a good framework that we need both meeting spaces and we need regular meetings too.

Based on all that, I want us to transition and discuss the shift of discipleship and groups here.

Symptoms of Our Discipleship

When I first started in this lead pastor role, I really wanted to get an idea of how the ministries and groups of our church were doing. I wanted to hear from everyone what was working, what wasn’t working, and what could be better. So, I met with every leader and began to notice some themes when I was talking to our group leaders. Themes like these: (SLIDE)

·      Leadership of the group was often concentrated in one person – which made it difficult for that person to lead an impactful study, care for the members of the group, and plan ways for the group to share Jesus with others.

·      Group members have different expectations for group life (some want a lot of vulnerability, others just want friendship)

·      There was no long-term plan for spiritual formation or regular opportunities for the group to serve together.

·      Some groups were unintentionally competing with each other for the same pool of people.

·      Group life for some folks felt more like an obligation than a joy with no end in sight.

These were alarming themes to discover but they revealed something deeper: our vision for discipleship relies on a small handful of experienced leaders carrying the load instead of the entire body engaging in the discipleship process. The apostle Paul reminds us that the church is to function like a body working together and if folks are to grow in their discipleship, we need to have areas where they can grow.

So if the mission of the church is to make disciples, how do we do that here? In the next few months, I’ll be sharing with you a vision for a deeper and wider discipleship. But first, we need to make a shift with our groups before other things.

Where We’re Heading

In September, we’ll be launching four brand-new community groups. Community groups are going to be different from the ways we’ve done “connect groups, life groups, etc.” in the past. Here’s how: (SLIDE)

1.      Shared leadership: there will be 3 leaders per group who are responsible for spiritual formation, pastoral care, and outreach or service opportunities.

2.    Mixed-gender and household based: in most cases, you’ll join a group with your spouse if you’re married. Group size will be capped at 12 people.

3.    Groups will meet 2x a month in someone’s home.

4.   Groups will welcome people in every stage of life which means childcare will be provided by members of the group. That way, parents of children can participate and children are welcomed.

5.   Lastly, as much as possible, community groups will be organized based on geographical proximity.

6.   (SLIDE)Groups will spend time eating together (Dinner or dessert), discussing Scripture together with an emphasis on obedience (not just talking about God), praying for one another’s needs intentionally, and will, throughout the year, serve together in some capacity.

a.   All of these practices come right from Acts 2: fellowship, eating, apostle’s teaching, and prayer. Serving is what marked the church in the rest of the book of Acts which is why its included.

Acts 2 saw a high level of commitment by the early believers. We’re asking for a specific version of that here too – not because it’s biblically commanded but rather, wise given our current realities. If you want to join one of these, you’re committing to a few things: (SLIDE)

·      Regular attendance of the groups (80% of the meetings). Community groups will be 2x a month during the school year and in the summer, meet 1x a month for more laidback gatherings.

·      Honesty about life’s struggles and joys instead of the Christian façade that I’m so blessed. If you want to stay surface level with people, CGs are not for you.

·      Honoring other people’s honesty by not gossiping or sharing things outside of the group.

·      Getting out of your comfort zone by discussing Scripture + praying for others, out loud. I’m asking you to go deeper in discipleship.

In walking through this with the board, we believe this shared leadership model will allow more of you to use your gifts. This will also allow your leaders to adequately focus on their areas of influence. Spiritual gifts. And by providing childcare, we ease the barriers that usually prevent families with kids from participating in this. Generational ministry.

Will this magically bring revival? No. Will you share your deepest wounds with someone on the first night you meet? No. Will everything work out perfectly? No. But here’s what I have been praying and believe will happen, over time: You will grow and be challenged in your faith. You will develop real honesty with other believers who love you even though they know your struggles and pain. You will find ways to serve others and serve people in your group.

A few very practical things (and these may be hard to hear) before I invite you to sign-up for a community group:

1.      In talking with Dan, Kathye, and Carolyn, the men’s and women’s group will no longer be meeting regularly. Those groups served a great purpose and I’m thankful for their leadership over the years. But, they’ve also carried that load single-handedly for a while and were sensing it was time for a change. Instead, those leaders would encourage you to sign up for a community group. Our men’s and women’s ministry will still exist: there will still be retreats and there will still be regular events but the 2x a month group times will be no more. If you’re a part of a community group, there will also be times for you just get together as the men or the women.

2.    The Breakfast Bunch Connect Group: you guys are not impacted by this at all. Continue to feast and fellowship at the Abbottstown Diner!

3.    If you belong to Jeff & Elaine’s Life Group or our table group, you will remain in that group but also welcome a few new members too. No need to do a thing.

4.   We’re launching with 4 groups so that means we have space for 48 of you. The shared leadership model will come in-time but for a few weeks, there will be just one household as the leader of the group. They’ll work closely with me in transitioning over to shared leadership.

5.   Your first few meetings are just going to focus on hearing each other’s story and relationship building. So, picture food, sharing, and prayer.

6.   If you decide that joining a community group isn’t a good thing for you in this season, be at peace. My invitation is simple: if you believe in this and are excited about it, jump in!

How to Join a Group (SLIDE)

So if you’re hearing what I’m saying and thinking to yourself: “Yes, I want to be a part of that.” In the past, groups were often closed or by invite only and I think that was a mistake. We’ll be doing it differently this time. So, here’s what you can do. In front of you, there is a “Connect with Us” card – you can pull it out. You can either fill it out with a pen or scan the QR code.

As you’re filling it out, select that you want to join a community group. If you scan the QR code, you’ll also see that it’ll ask you what days and times would work best for you to join and if you’ll need childcare. That’s helpful info because I’ll be working to try to match up schedules and rhythms. If you’re filling out a connect card with a pen, just write that info down instead.

Once you have it complete, drop it in the offering box in the back. You’ll have two weeks to sign up (this week and next week) because we’ll be launching these in September and I’m asking you to commit to trying it until Next Spring. If you have questions before you sign up, please text, call, email, or come talk to me. If you have negative feedback about this, please text, call, email, or come talk to me – I want to hear this.  

And so, I asked at the start: if your life fell apart, who'd be there? Who could you be honest with? A Community Group won't answer that perfectly, and it won't answer it on night one. But it's a real place to start building the answer.