Different people working together in the community
Thomas … and Nathaniel.
Nathaniel was a superstitious person. … Nathaniel believed things way too easily. … Without checking them out enough. … There was a time when Jesus simply said … “Nathaniel … I saw you under the fig tree.”
Having nothing more to go on than this statement … Nathaniel says … “You are the king of Israel.” … And Jesus rebukes him by saying … “you believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree?” … “You will see greater things than this!”
On the other extreme … Thomas is substitious … (if that’s a word).
Superstitious means “over believing” … so Substitious must mean “under believing.” Right?
Thomas was substitious. … A cynic. … It wasn’t good enough for him that the other disciples saw Jesus alive. … He said … {PP} (John 20:25) “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands … and put my finger where the nails were … and put my hand into his side … I will not believe it.” {PP} (blank)
Thomas is a skeptic.
Thomases and Nathaniels hate each other. … A cynic … and a superstitious person. … As opposite as they could be. … But they’re both in the boat together. … [PAUSE]
Think about Peter and John. … John is rational. … Peter is impulsive. … John is the first one to think. … Peter is the first one to act. … John’s a rationalist. … Peter’s an existentialist.
Johns think Peters overreact. … Johns want Peters to slow down and think things through before just charging ahead.
Peters think Johns don’t do anything. … They think Johns just want to form a committee and write documents. … Do you see?
Phil Hill and I worked through this with worship.
I’m a Peter. … “Let’s get everyone who is SHAPED for worship … serving in worship.” … “Oh … you play the ukulele … great … how about playing for God? … Come next Wednesday to practice!”
Phil’s a John. … “We need a document … we need a process before we just start adding people to the worship team. … And we need to think about why we would add someone. Do we really need a ukulele?
You know what? … Phil and I are in the boat together. And we’ve learned that it’s good for both of us. … As different as we can be on some things. … I make him uncomfortable sometimes … (like anytime I call and start the conversation with) … “Hey Phil … I’ve got a great idea for worship!” … [PAUSE]
He keeps things orderly … and makes sure everything we do is grounded in scripture. … I can tell you that there is no worship pastor … anywhere … who is more concerned with making sure everything done is biblically.
We need each other. … It’s good that we’re in the boat together. … It’s good for us. … It’s good for the church.
Jesus calls us to be a community. … A community means that there will be all kinds of different people … with different personalities … and different points of view.
People who would never see eye to eye … and be able to work together out there in the world. … The church is different. … [PAUSE]
We all need each other. … We need a community … with lots of different people … with lots of different points of view.
Otherwise we won’t grow. … And we need to keep growing because there is a world out there that needs to see a community that looks the way Jesus says the church should look. … [PAUSE]
A community of very different people … who genuinely love one another. … A community that shares with one another … and outsiders … in staggering amounts … because money is not an idol. … A community that shares its time … because we’re not living for ourselves. … A community that’s still following Jesus.