A few months ago I was pondering these issues of "living life, being involved in the world, while also being part of a church community". I posted the following thoughts on a web site called Allelon.org. Hopefully they will be helpful to you as you plan for the summer and desire to be in fellowship with Oasis.
When I was a child growing up I saw kids on my ball teams whose parents did not allow them to participate with the team on Wednesday nights because that was "church night." I always felt bad for those kids, feeling that if you make a commitment to something you should be able to do it all the way, not just "when you can" or "when you want to." But then again, hadn't they made a commitment FIRST to their church? So then, perhaps they shouldn't play sports at all........ no that doesn't seem right... does it??? I guess it depends on how we view commitment to "church". Is it church meetings? Or is it something else?
See the struggle? In house church/simple church settings, during the summertime your meetings and gatherings can get pretty sparse for lack of people. And it's not because these people are "falling away" or any of that nonsense... it's just that they are choosing to participate in the community at large. And I WANT people to coach ball teams, and have their kids play on teams, and do gymnastics, and go to band camps, and help in community events, etc. But I also do not want our house church hosts and leaders to become discouraged because it appears their fellowship is dying.
This is the dilemma I have found myself in... even personally. I coach baseball. I have always coached baseball since the day I stopped playing. It is a needed recreational activity for my personal well-being, and a great opportunity for me to interact in a number of young people's lives and fellow coaches in very positive ways. The conversations I have had in dugouts between games or on the bus have often had the feel of a house church meeting in and of themselves. However, often coaching baseball takes me away from some of those summer meetings that I usually attend on a regular basis.
These "extra-curricular" things are important parts of our lives. But as we know, fellowship and regular edification of the body is vital to our lives as well. So the practical question is… how do we make both work? I have focused this writing as a discussion on “summertime church issues” because I have found this to be more prevalent in the summertime. How do we encourage and continue to participate in the communities in which we live while also keeping the fellowship and the encouragement we get from one another, for instance, in our house church meetings (most of our house churches meet on weeknights, which is typically when we find the most conflict with community events)?
Maybe it’s by focusing more on “doing the Word” during the summer months, and perhaps our "meetings" during those months should consist more of helping/serving in a variety of ways. Or perhaps a few planned fellowship parties, and some "intentionally spontaneous" weekly cook-outs?
I believe that perhaps the best, and most biblically accurate way to view the local church is as a "family"! In my experience most nuclear families have this SAME problem over the summer. The normal routine is tossed out the window because of all the activity of summer. How does a family respond to this? One example I can think of is they are open to seize an opportunity when everyone is together. They look around and see everyone home for an afternoon at the same time and say hey “let’s get together, eat, and catch up!” I also think you have to become deliberate about getting together. So there definitely must be balance, and flexibility alike.
Staying with the family metaphor... in a family, how is "commitment" defined? Is your commitment to your family dependant upon how many dinners you sit down and have with them? Are your priorities out of place because you are not making every effort to be at those "scheduled" times together? Of course not. Those are important times, and you should make every effort to have those as often as possible, but just because your schedule may not allow you to be at the dinner table every meal with them does not show you lack commitment or giving priority to your family.
Family is defined by flexibility... not rigidity. If I tell my son that he cannot play baseball this summer because he will have games scheduled on church meeting nights (which he most likely will), what am I telling my son? Is God, our church family, and our relationship with God and our church family a priority over baseball, or gymnastics, band, etc? Of course. But what does it mean that God is a priority over these things? Does it mean that we cannot be, or should not be involved in these "extra-curricular" things if the schedules will potentially conflict with our meetings? We have to remember, church is family... not meetings. My family is defined by who we are and what we do WHEN we are together. It is NOT defined by simply getting together or the number of times we get together. Does that make sense?
Some people are going to weigh in differently on this, and so I feel that part of my role is to help us all understand there is room for differences of opinion. For instance, there will always be people in the church who get involved in a lot of "extra-curricular" activities that may cause them to be away from church meetings now and then. To say they have not made their church involvement a priority would not be fair. Their commitment to Jesus and to the church should not be measured by whether or not they attend church meetings. But on the other side of that coin... those people will need to be deliberate about creating other opportunities in their schedules for fellowship.
There is a dangerous pattern that has the potential to rear it's ugly head if we are not careful. In many church institutions there is this concept that you are not a committed member unless you come to all the events and programs. But as you have heard me say before, my desire it to stop "going" to church, and instead BE the church. In the "simple" church model I found a "structure" that lent itself to that understanding of who we are as the church. However, even with the "simple" church or "house church" we can still be in danger of falling into those same old patterns.
Likewise, there will also always be people who DO define their commitment by being at all the meetings, etc. They do feel it necessary to make it top priority to not miss a single one, and will choose to get involved or not get involved in other, extra-curricular things based upon when the meetings are. And those people must also be encouraged in their zeal and passion for the church, while at the same time reminded that others are not "less committed" than they are.
Earlier I referred to family "routines"... and how at certain times, like summertime, the normal routine is usually set aside for a while. The church also has a set of routines, but it seems that the church tends to grab a hold of those routines with a much stronger grip than nuclear families do. I guess the key is to figure out how to set aside some of the normal routines without losing or backtracking in our relationships and fellowship life.
If each one of us can find that balance, then I believe we will find what truly is ABUNDANT LIFE. God has given us everything for our enjoyment. He wants us to constantly be about HIS mission in this world... while enjoying the life he has given us. My desire is to encourage you in this. To be an example of this very thing for you. I hope you see me as one who enjoys life, who has a passion for the Gospel, and for empowering people to serve in this great commission of Jesus. I may do this through preaching, teaching, serving my church family, serving my nuclear family, or serving in the community at large.
This has been a lengthy article. I hope you are challenged, stretched, and encouraged by it. Find freedom in it! Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is FREEDOM. Liberty to LIVE and LOVE your community. If nothing else, take it as an exhortation to do just that.
I like this outlook on routines and how time is spent simply because it brings us closer to our family and those who need Christ. (Those who don't experience Him like we do.) It also draws us away from being comfortable with only our church family as a place to be "spiritual." I guess it depends on how we percieve ourselves as either being promiscuous by not attending church everytime or as being spiritually proactive. It also depends on where we're gifted individually.
Posted by: Josh Lynch | April 18, 2005 at 09:56 PM