What is the Purpose of the Church?

All who believed were together and had all things in common; ^they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. ^Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. Acts 2:44-47

Dear Friends,

As most of you are aware, I have started attending art school. It is so interesting to me how old habits and old ways of being want to kick in. I call it, “lack of clarity about purpose.” In particular, I get caught up in trying to figure out what the instructor wants so that I can get a good grade. I have to intentionally remind myself that I’m not there to make good grades but to develop myself as an artist! It may not be significant to you but this “paradigm shift” makes a huge difference for me and my experience.

 Almost every organization and institution can suffer from this lack of clarity about purpose. This is also true of congregations. When a congregation is first started, there is usually a very clear vision for what they feel God is calling them to do. This clarity provides excitement and focused action. As a congregation grows and new people join, it is easy for this clarity to dissipate. It is quite often the case  that the original vision and purpose fade. When that happens, what tends to kick in the default purpose: SURVIVAL.

Two years ago at our AGM (Annual General Meeting), we did a Values Cards Exercise that helped us discern our core values: Uplifting, Connecting, Inviting, and Dynamic. These have become very helpful values to name who we are so that we can continue to live into them. I believe that it is now the time to ask the question, “We are being uplifting, connecting, inviting and dynamic as we do what?”.

For the next few weeks, I will be providing Bible verses which can help us—as FLC—answer this question powerfully and in line with God’s will.

The passage from Acts 2 indicated above, is a good place to start. Acts is the story of the early church. It’s the story of the early Christians as they began living out their faith. There is Jerusalem after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they:

·         Shared things in common

·         Helped those in need

·         Worshipped

·         Ate together

·         Attracted people by whom they were being

How does this inform our life together and what we are called to do?

Peace,

Pastor Phil