habit #4 Connected notes

Individualism – a way of life that makes the individual supreme or sovereign over everything.  The fruit of individualism that he lists against their counterpart define our culture – thinking of others; Law suits over reconciliation; Individual rights over community responsibilities; career advancement over company loyalty; cynicism over trust.

Isolationism

We are physically detached from each other.  We change places of residence frequently. One survey revealed that seven in ten do not know their neighbors.  As many as one third of Americans admit to frequent periods of loneliness, which is a key factor in the high suicide rate among the elderly.  – Barna

Gallup – concluded from his studies and polls that Americans are among the loneliest people in the world.   Americans can buy so much activity – how can they possibly be so lonely?  Today more than ¾  of the American people live in metropolitan areas ,and more than 2/3  of those live in the suburbs.  We are surrounded by more people than ever before in the history of our country.  How could a Gallup Poll rank us among the loneliest people in the world?

America has learned that we are more than a collection of individuals.

What’s the big deal about community?

1.  We were created  for community.

Genesis 2:18 (NIV)
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

Community is the signature of God

John 17:20-21 (NIV)
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

2.  Significant life-change happens in the context of community.

Mark 3:14 (NIV)
He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach

Acts 2:46 (NLT)
They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—

[Christ] works on us in all sorts of ways….But above all, He works on us through each other.  Men are mirrors, or “carriers” of Christ to other men….Usually it is those who know Him that bring Him to others.  That is why the Church, the whole body of Christians showing Him to one another, is so important….It is easy to think that the Church has a lot of different objects – education, building, missions, holding services….The church exists for no other purpose but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs.  If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time.  God became Man for no other purpose.  It is even doubtful, you know, whether the whole universe was created for any other purpose.                       -C.S. Lewis

Why should I participate in a small group?

1.  It provides the context for growth.

2 Timothy 2:2 (NIV)
And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.

Just offering connecting opportunities is insufficient.  Instead, we must cast and capture the vision for a place where every person is pursuing a journey toward full devotion to Christ – in community with others.

2.  It provides the support and care I need.

Ecclesiastes 4:10 (NLT)
If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But people who are alone when they fall are in real trouble.

3.  It provides an opportunity for loving accountability

If you had a malignancy, would you want the doctor to tell you about it, or act as if nothing is wrong?

James 5:16 (NIV)
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Proverbs 27:17 (NLT)
As iron sharpens iron, a friend sharpens a friend.