Who We Are

Learning from Kodak

Kodak Story

George Eastman created the Kodak Company in 1888.

Over the following century it grew to dominate the photography industry.

In 1975 Kodak controlled 85% of camera sales and 90% of film sales.

In 1980 the company was worth $10 billion.

But in 2012, 32 years later, Kodak filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

A year later they sold off their film division and their patients on digital imaging (digital camera technology).

So you can technically no longer have a true “Kodak Moment”.

What happened?

In a word “Digital”.

Digital photography started to gain popularity in the mid 80’s and accelerated in the 90’s and 2000’s.

Interesting Fact: in 1975 Kodak actually introduced the first portable digital camera.

But Kodak saw themselves as a Film company not what their tagline, “Create a Kodak Moment”, seemed to communicate.

Kodak was a memory capturing company, but when the method we used to capture memories changed, Kodak didn’t.

The became obsolete because they didn’t know their true mission and purpose.

Why do I share this?

Because we as the church are traveling a similar path as the world around us shifts.

The issue is not with our message, the gospel is as true today as it was when the bible was written.

The issues isn’t with the church as it is defined in Scripture, Jesus clears says to Peter “The gates of Hell shall not prevail over His church.”

The issue is how we understand and live out the mission and purpose of the church.

Understanding the Mission and Purpose of the Church

Throughout the fall we worked our way through the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

As we have traversed this challenging and unstable year of ministry, we sought to find wisdom and guidance for how to rebuild and restart after the disruptions, struggles, uncertainties, and instability of the year.

Here we are nearly a year into this pandemic and it is starting to sink in just how altering this season has been in all of life, especially in church.

So here we are, facing a year with a lot of hope, but not a lot of certainty of how to live life in this “New world” we live in.

We are scattered, disconnected, and even discouraged, yet we have so many reasons to be grateful and hopeful for this New Year.

But we must ask the question: How are we going to be the church in 2021?

What needs to change and what needs to stay the same?

What do we need to spend our time, money, and energy on this year and what do we need to put on hold, or just let go of?

I don’t think we can answer any of those questions without understanding the true Mission and purpose of the church.

Not what we think the mission and purpose of the church is.

At its core, what is the church, why does it exist, and what is the mission that defines our significance.

For this answer, it seems most fitting to go back to the beginning of the church, Acts 1 and 2.

I have three (pastor number) defining characteristics of we we are as the church according to Acts 1 and 2.

We as the Church are:

Acts 1:5–9 ESV

5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

1) A people SHAKEN and SHAPED BY Jesus. (Acts 1:5-9)

Post resurrection, the disciples were trying to figure out this world they were in.

There is a sense of dumbfoundedness in them “What just happened?” and they seem to just stare at Jesus wanting Him to make sense of things for them.

Even there question in vs 6 is confused, “So what is next Jesus, are you going to become king, take over the world?”

I feel like this is where we as the church are right now.

We are dumbfounded, unsure of where we are to go, what we are to do, and, even, who we are to be.

So where should we look for answers?

Jesus’s response, “Don’t worry about that stuff, instead know that very soon you are going to join in on something that will shape the world for eternity.

This is so important for us to understand.

It doesn’t matter what’s next, it doesn’t matter how things have changed, it doesn’t matter that life as we knew it will likely not come back real soon, if ever.

We can sit around and try to figure out the signs of the end, or our theological stances on masks and social distancing...

OR we can embrace the mission Jesus calls us to in verse 8 that HAS NOT CHANGED a SINGLE BIT IN 2000 years.

“And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem (your immediate home), Judea (your border home), Samaria (your country), and to the ends of the earth (worldwide).”

This is what happens when we come into contact with the REAL Jesus. He shakes up life in a way that we can’t make sense of it outside of Him.

There is a core mission and core purpose that God has called us to that goes beyond and in spite of our circumstances.

How we engage the mission of God in the season to come may be EXTREMELY different and EXTREMELY uncomfortable, but God’s mission hasn’t changed.

AND God doesn’t leave us to figure it out in our own ingenuity.

In Chapter 2 the Holy Spirit comes upon the believers.

Jesus has shook up their lives and now, through the Spirit, God begins to shape them and prepare them to be used for His mission as His people.

Spiritual gifts and the fruits of the Spirit are the signs of God shaping us for His purposes.

Paul sees it this way in 1 Corinthians 10-12 and Ephesians 4 when he talks about the differing gifts of the body of Christ. God is shaping us.

There is a reason we are all here today or watching online, because we value this thing we call Church.

Being a part of it has saved us, shaped us, and given us a profound since of purpose and community that is incomparable to the world.

Or, for some, you are looking for the purpose or community and you think the church might be the place to find it (and you have found the source my friend).

And though what we know about church and what we have loved about church might not be here now, or for the foreseeable future.

The purpose and mission of the church, the saved and redeemed people of God, has not changed and God is STILL shaping us and using us to accomplish His mission and purpose.

Now let’s look at the second characteristic...

2) A GATHERING people. (Acts 2:42-47)

Fast forward a short time. The Spirit of God comes on the people of God in an amazing way, then Peter gets up and preaches to the thousands gathered there in Jerusalem and 3000 people are saved and begin to follow Jesus along with the disciples.

Then Luke, the author of Acts, leaves the detailed account of the days following Jesus’s resurrection and ascension and presents a board picture of the church in those early days.

This passage is a very important passage that has gotten a lot of attention over the years as churches have seen in it as definition of the nature and practice of the church.

Rick Warren wrote a very popular book that centers on this very passage and maps out the 5 Purposes/functions of the church.

These explanations are super helpful but can also be misconstrued in our application of this verse.

Don’t miss the purpose and tone of this passage.

It is primarily descriptive rather than prescriptive

Not to say there isn’t any prescriptive applications we can make from the verse, but Luke’s intention is not “this is what they did so this is what you should do...”

It isn’t about methods or models, it is about identity and rhythms.

Luke is describing how this group of new believers, led by some very inexperienced pastors, lived life together.

And the primary thing that stands out is that they gathered together for some really important things:

“Devoted themselves to the Apostles teachings” - they listen to the Word of God being taught (and literally being written by the Spirit)

“Devoted themselves to fellowship” - this isn’t potlucks and ice cream socials.

Luke uses the word Koinonia which isn’t easily translated into English, but means close association, participation, communion.

David Mathis says “Koinonia is no chummy hobnob with apps and drinks and a game on the tube. It is an all-in, life-or-death collective venture in the face of great evil and overwhelming opposition. True fellowship is less like friends gathered to watch the Super Bowl, and more like players on the field in blood, sweat, and tears, huddled in the backfield only in preparation for the next down. True fellowship is more the invading troops side by side on the beach at Normandy, than it is the gleeful revelers in the street on V.E. Day.”

Much of what Luke says in the rest of the passage can be lumped into a description of Koinonia/fellowship. (ie breaking bread, sharing possess, caring for the needy…).

“all who believed we TOGETHER and had all things in common...” - they were together more than just one or two times a week, they SHARED life together.

You might be thinking “I sure don’t have a lot in common with several folks at our church.”

Luke isn’t describing a utopian society where everyone just agrees with everyone else.

He is describing a community of people that didn’t put their own need before the needs of their brothers and sisters in Christ.

They shared life, their time, their money, their homes, their hearts, their food...

“Day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes.” - They were a gathering people.

They gathered in large groups in public, they gathered in small groups in homes.

They embraced Hebrews 10:24-25

Hebrews 10:24–25 ESV

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

It wasn’t an obligation, it was a vital rhythm of their lives, on par with getting 6-8 hours of sleep and drinking 50-75 oz of water a day.

There was a recent Gallup Poll released that sought to understand how different groups of people were faring in the realm of mental health through the Pandemic. Of all the factors that were mentioned (political party affiliation, age, income level…) the only group that changed for the positive, meaning they would say there mental health is excellent, was those who attended a church service weekly.

Perhaps the rhythms of the early church are rhythms that really do make a difference in our lives.

Here’s the thing.

When we read this passage we run it through the filter of our experience with Church or our cultural understanding of church.

We make these descriptions of how the early church lived into programs of the church rather than rhythms of the life of the church.

This isn’t all bad, many of those activities and programs do fit into those categories.

The danger comes when the programs and activities that make up our experience with church life become THE WAYS we we accomplish the things mentioned in Acts 2:42-47.

We start to associate the programs of the church as essential elements of how we are the church.

So when culture shifts happen, or when life as we know it is disrupted and those things we associate with being Church are changed or shifted, we struggle to adapt.

We are in uncharted waters in a lot of ways (at least for Southern Baptist Christians in the bible belt).

As we look at 2021 and beyond, we have to understand that being a GATHERED people isn’t going to look like it has years prior.

But the purpose and mission hasn’t changed.

And the vital need we all have to gather with the saints has not changes and never will change.

How we do it is what we all have to figure out.

3) A SCATTERING people. (Acts 2:41, 47; 3-28)

Acts 2:42-47 is sandwiched between 2 passages where Luke shares the influence the early church had on the world around them.

Acts 2:41 ESV

41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

Acts 2:47 ESV

47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

3000 souls added in one day and every day the Lord added more and more to their numbers.

What do these passages tell us about the early church?

They weren’t stuck inside the walls of a building or huddled together in their Christian bubble.

They were on mission in every aspect of their lives.

We don’t know in detail what life looked like for those early Christians, but we can make a pretty accurate assumption based on these 2 verses and what we can glean from the rest of the book of Acts.

Church wasn’t just one aspect or compartment of their lives.

Their identity was what Paul described in 2 Corinthians 5:18-20

2 Corinthians 5:18–20 ESV

18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

The scattering nature of the Church again is not a program of the church, but an outworking of our identity as ambassadors of Christ.

Our faith is doesn’t just influence how we spend our Sunday mornings, Wednesday nights, or the occasional church activity.

Our faith influences how we live in our neighborhoods, work our jobs, coach our kids in sports, use our homes, spend our money… and so on and so on...

The gathering of the church led to the scattering of the church, which led to more and more people coming to faith.

I want us to understand something about the early church that I pray is both convicting and exhilarating as we begin this year.

In a season of life where so many people are struggle with fear, anxiety, loneliness, stress, financial strain, and so many other things, our call as followers of Christ to bring the gospel to those far from God has not changed.

We are likely not going to do any big evangelistic outreach events.

Who knows how long we are going to be limited on our space on Sunday mornings.

And when are people going to be comfortable enough to come to our homes or join us for a meal?

But every day we have the opportunity to live out our faith in real and powerful ways.

If we are paying attention, we are given regular opportunities to speak gospel hope into the lives of those God places in our path.

The mission hasn’t changed my friend.

Response

We need not become obsolete because the God who called us, saved us, brought us together, and sustains us day by day has not and will never become obsolete

And is mission and purpose for us has not be thwarted, so may we all embrace it, live it, and do it all together as we gather and scattered as the people of God.

How we live as the church this year is going to look different, but I challenge us all to lean into it, even it is unfamiliar, uncomfortable, and maybe even a bit scary.

God has not given up on His church.