What_does_it_Mean_to_be_Commited_to_a_Local_Church[1]
M. Clugston
April 15/08
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE COMMITTED TO A LOCAL CHURCH?
Intro: *Robert lives in Gilbert, Arizona. He likes friends to call him “Fat Bob.” He loves life and people and enjoys laughing at himself. He’s got a good job and faithfully attends his church. But if you really want to see Robert excited, ask him about his Jeep. He talks about it like it’s a person. “She’s my baby,” he says affectionately. He searched for over 2 years to find just the right yellow and black Wrangler. “It was spotless. Just gorgeous,” he recounts.
“Once I got the Jeep… well, of course I had to join the Jeep club,” explains Robert. The local club had over 1500 active members. It offered meetings, parties, trail runs, and a website where members could exchange Jeep tips. “It’s a whole Jeep community,” Robert says.
Through the club, Robert hooked up with guys who taught him the finer points of 4-wheeling. As his Jeep-discipleship intensified, Robert’s commitment only deepened. “I was totally hooked,” he says. “Every free moment was consumed. I was either working on a Jeep… planning a Jeep run… hanging out and talking Jeep…or going on-line to check our Jeep website.”
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One Saturday Robert went to a Christian conference with a group from his church and heard the speaker ask, “Are you married to the church? Or are you dating the church?”
The question unsettled Robert. “God started speaking,” he remembers. “He was asking me, ‘Robert, what are you married to?’ And the only thing I could think of was the Jeep club. It was obvious, but I’d never seen it before: I was married to the Jeep club, and I was dating the church!”
The speaker quoted John Stott, who said, “If the church is central to God’s purpose as seen in both history and the gospel, it must surely also be central to our lives. How can we take lightly what God takes so seriously? How dare we push to the circumference what God has placed at the center?”
As his mind played back over the last 2 years, Robert realized that he had pushed the church to the outskirts of his life. He had invested so much in the Jeep club but very little in his local church. If a Jeep run was scheduled on a Sunday afternoon, he’d be watching the clock throughout the church service, ready to rush out as soon as the sermon was done.
And then there was the Saturday he was asked to help clean up the church property for a special conference that was being held at the building.
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“I totally blew it off,” Robert recalls. “I didn’t even give it a second thought. I had promised the guys in the club that I’d help them pick up trash on a trail to prepare for a run. The reality is, I had no passion for the church or the people in it,” Robert said. “I would do anything for the guys in the club. But I really struggled if I was asked to give time on the weekend to serve my church.”
So, what does passion for the church look like in your life? That shouldn’t be hard to figure out? We all have our own version of the Jeep club… some interest or pursuit that we care deeply about. It might a hobby… sports… a career… or education. You might be preoccupied with technology… your health… a cause… or a relationship. I want you to take a moment and identify your “club.” When you do, there’s a good chance you’ll see a pattern of what passion looks like in your life. Your passion is what you talk about… think about… and dream about. It’s what you give your time to without complaint… it’s what you find your identity in… it’s what you’re willing to sacrifice for.
So as we look at this 2nd message in the series “Stop Dating the Church,” the N.T. gives us a clear and helpful teaching on what it means to be committed to a local church… what passionate involvement in a local church should look like. Let’s look at what you and I need to do to make a commitment to Christ and the church. We begin with the profile of commitment.
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I. The Profile of Commitment
So what does it mean to be committed to a local church? First…
A. You Join Hebrews 13:17
Just like Robert and his Jeep Club, when we’re passionate, we want to sign up. We want to belong… to be identified as a member. In the same way, it’s not enough to just go to church or sample from several churches in the area. You need to officially join… become a member… so that the pastor and leaders know that you’re a part of the team.
Hebrew 13:17 urges Christians to “obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account…” You can’t do this well if you haven’t joined a church. Becoming a church member gives you specific accountability… care… encouragement… and leadership.
Once you’ve joined, put down your roots… get involved. A common attitude toward the church is, “I’m here… tentatively… at least for the immediate future…I think.” But this keeps people from really experiencing church. It’s so much better for you and your church when you declare, “I’m here, all of me, and I trust God with my future.”
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*Christian martyr Jim Elliott who was killed by the Auca Indians in Ecuador once said, “Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.” May this mindset be yours with regard to the local church.
Henry Blackaby says, “Watch to see where God is working and join Him.”
So where do you think God is working at Harvest… or in your life? I pray that God will open your spiritual eyes to see what He is doing. The Holy Spirit and the Word of God will instruct you and help you know where God is working. So once you know where He is working, you can adjust your life to join Him where He is working.
B. You Make the Local Church a Priority
We all know, we build our lives around our priorities. Building your life around the church means making it the kind of priority that secondary concerns flow around, not over. Unfortunately for some, concerns like Sunday football games… hunting… sports… sleeping in… cutting grass… working on weekends… shopping… run over their involvement in the church.
*According to our Phone Directory there are over 210 people who are listed in it, but yet our average attendance so far this year is 119... which includes Easter Sunday in that figure.
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Now that figure (119) includes people who are not included in our directory which proves we have a great number of people who claim that Harvest is their home church is really just dating the church.
Now let me give you some shocking news about these numbers… we have 91 or more missing every Sunday. This is unacceptable. The national average of church members and non-church members missing on any given Sunday is 30%, but many Sunday’s we are as high as 42%.
Now I understand sickness… vacations… and being forced to work on Sunday, but I don’t understand laziness… hunting… sports… shopping… sleeping in… coming ahead of church. It is very obvious that Harvest is not a priority in many households. As someone said, “If absence makes the heart grow fonder, a lot of folks must love our church.”
C. You Try to Make your Pastor’s job a Joy
Hebrew 13:17 says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”
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This passage reminds us that pastors will give an account to God for how they cared for the people in their churches. It’s a reminder that no one will get away with heavy-handed dictatorship or false teaching that leads people astray. But it also calls us to submit to leaders who are seeking to mature us in the faith. In fact, it tells us to be the type of church members that make your pastors’ job enjoyable.
How can you do this? Embrace the ministry… serve with joy… love God’s Word personally. Nothing makes me happier than to see a member growing in godliness. Send notes of encouragement… take it upon yourself to protect your pastor by praying for him and by refusing to engage in slander against him. Leadership isn’t easy. It’s certainly easier to comment on and critique the job someone else is doing than it is to lead. Please don’t critique your pastor; pray for him and find ways to encourage him. And if others engage in gossip or slander, challenge them and refuse to participate. When you make your pastor’s duties a joy, you will benefit spiritually.
D. You Find Ways to Serve
Serving is spending yourself… your energy… your time… and your gifts and talents for something outside of yourself.
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I Peter 4:10 says, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”
Serving is the fastest way to feel a sense of ownership in the church and it is also the best way to build relationships. No Christian should be a spectator. No Christian should be sitting in the stands watching the game. The church “grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:16).
Friends, when you got saved, you were given a spiritual gift. It was not something you were born with… it was something that God gave you and it is your responsibility to discover what it is. One-way to discover your spiritual gift is: what is your passion. Passion can relate to a particular group of people such as children… young adults… the elderly… the homeless… those recently divorced. Other passions relate to causes, like The Hope Center. Passions can also revolve around certain functions in the church such as organizing events… people or systems… or just being available to help. Some of you know what your Spiritual Gift is, but are you using it? I have been challenged to do a series of messages or teach a seminar on this subject. So what does a spiritual gift do? It glorifies God and edifies people.
A passionate disciple is always asking, “What can I do to serve God and others with what He’s so generously given me?”
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Paul says in Romans 12:4-6 that in the local church our gifts belong to each other. “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace give us.”
Please, don’t withhold your spiritual gifts from the church. Don’t wait to be called on to exercise them. Don’t withhold your talents God gave you at birth. Instead we should humbly present our talents and spiritual gifts to our leaders and offer to serve the needs of the whole body in whatever way would be most helpful. That’s being committed to the local church.
Another way of being committed to the local church is…
E. You Give
For a Christian, giving financially is a very meaningful expression of worship. It’s a way to offer up our lives to Him, but materialism has got a lot of Christians by the throat. Credit card debt is choking the life out of Christians. Because we are so materialistic minded, the average evangelical, born again Christian gives about 3% of their income to their local church (examples). A new book entitled The Evangelical Scandal says, only 6% of born again Christians tithe. It is estimated that if the average American Christian tithed, we’d have another $143 billion.
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Can you imagine what we could do at Harvest if every wage earner in our church tithed? Just think of how we could increase our missions budget… just think of how we could expand our children’s ministry and facility… just think of how we could have more storage space… just think of paying off our mortgage and building a new worship center. But did you know that we have 15-20 teens coming on Wednesday night and on Sunday to services, but we don’t have a youth pastor for them? They need one desperately, but there is no money to hire one. How can we neglect the future of our church? We have another great need in our church for a pianst/worship leader. We have not be able to find one who will volunteer, so we may have to hire one. But the question is: where will we get the money?
If we tithe, giving 10% of our income to the local church, which is an act of worship, we are telling God that we trust Him and acknowledge that all we have belongs to Him. Let me challenge you from this Scripture: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it” (Malachi 3:10).
There are many worthy and wonderful ministry opportunities that exist all over the world, but because the local church is the place you’re nourished spiritual, it should be the first place you invest financially.
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*I was challenge a few years ago by a friend of mine who retired from a very good paying joy. His income was going to be greatly reduced in his buy out, but he said to me that he was going to continue to tithe on his former income after he retired. So when Cathy retired, we decided to test God again. So we keep our commitments at the same level we were tithing when she had a job. And God has poured out blessing after blessing.
*In a church in the Deep South the preacher was moving toward the end of his sermon, and with growing crescendo he said, “This church, like the crippled man, has got to get up and walk.” And the congregation responded, “That’s right, reverend, let it walk.”
And he added, “This church, like Elijah on Mount Carmel, has got to run” “Let it run, preacher. Let it run.”
“This church has got to mount up on wings like eagles and fly.” “Let it fly, preacher. Let it fly.”
Then he added, “Now if this church is gonna fly, it’s gonna take money.” “Let it walk, preacher. Let it walk.”
Friends, if we are going to see Harvest fly, we can’t walk. So let me urge you to begin the adventure today. God will give you new joy, as you trust Him with your finances. Matthew 6:19-20, Jesus promises that everything we give to Him is converted to treasure and reward in heaven that will never fade!
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What else does it mean to be committed to a local church?
F. You Connect with People Acts 2:46-47
“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
Passion for the church involves diving into the community of the local church. It means “doing life” with other Christians by pursuing relationships that extend beyond the church building and church functions.
The N.T. calls this “fellowship”… we call it “Small Groups.” It means belonging to each other. The N.T. is full of instructions on what it means for us to belong to each other. Have you ever noticed the “one another” commands in the Bible? Here’s a sampling of what we’re called to do in our relationship with other Christians:
We’re to:
. Love one another (John 13:34).
. Be devoted to one another (Romans 12:5).
. Honor one another (Romans 12:10).
. Rejoice with one another (Romans 12:15).
. Serve one another (Galatians 5:13).
. Carry one another’s burden (Galatians 6:2).
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. Forgive one another (Ephesians 4:32).
. Encourage one another (I Thessalonians 5:11).
. Offer hospitality to one another (I Peter 4:9).
. Pray for one another (James 5:16).
Every “one another” command shows that the church isn’t merely about programs or meetings, but about “shared life.”
I would like to challenge everyone to start reaching out to others… offer hospitality… find practical ways to serve others. Don’t wait for someone to make the first move, take the initiative and serve others.
Here are some ideas: plant flowers around the church building and keep them weeded… paint some rooms… clean up the grounds… wash windows… adopt a senior to get their yard ready for spring.
Let me give you one more proof of what it means to be commitment to the church.
G. You Invite Someone to a Friend Day
Mother‘s Day is going to be a friend day. We want you to bring your mother if she lives in the area… if she does not go to church… or to bring a mother you know that does not go to church. Friend Day is not taking someone away from their church. Friend Day is for you to bring your unchurched friends to church.
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There are 2 types of unchurched people: people who do not go to church and people who have not been in church for at least 6 months. It is a Sunday that we knock ourselves out to present the basic truths of Christianity in music… drama… video… and message.
So, together we can be a team to reach your unchurched friend… coworker… or family member. Here is the deal: you need to invite 4 to get 1… that’s just the law of averages. So you bring them… or you meet them at the door or in the parking lot… you sit with them… you invite them to your home after service for lunch… or go out with them to eat… and you talk about the service. You asks them question… did they understand the message and what questions do they have?
What I’ve observed on Friend Day that those who bring an unchurched friend are so excited. They are praying… they are watching out of the corner of their eye… and they are hoping that we do not blow it in anyway. But I also observe something else… that those who don’t invite an unchurched friend just look at this as just another service.
Have you ever noticed that people who have been captured by an idea or a product almost instinctively try to get other people excited about it, too? In the same way, when you’re transformed by the gospel and you’re passionate about the church, you want others to experience your joy. Passion spills out… you can’t keep it inside.
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Passionate involvement in a local church should never be viewed as a way to escape the world. As I’ve said, the local church is God’s primary means to reach the world.
That’s why an important part of church is expressing a heart for the unchurched… the lost. Look for ways that you can creatively… naturally… enthusiastically reach those who don’t yet know Christ personally.
II. The Passion of Commitment
As you’d expect, the ways you express commitment in a local church are also the essential elements of thriving there.
*Remember Robert and his Jeep? After being challenged at the conference to stop dating the church, he resolved to change his life. The day he got home he logged onto the Jeep website and posted his final message to the club.
“I explained that I was no longer going to be a member,” Robert said happily. “I announced that I was divorcing the Jeep club and marrying the church!”
These days Robert still loves to talk Jeep. But if you want to see him really excited, ask him about his church. There’s passion in his voice when he talks about it.
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“The church isn’t just an option for me,” he says. “It’s a lifeline. It’s something I really want. I look forward to it… like I did with the trail runs. I’m excited to go to church and to serve. And I’m happy to say that I am still married to the church,” Robert says proudly. “In fact, I just celebrated my first anniversary.”