Surfing the Inner N8

Last night at CrossWay Church we held the third session of our church-wide Bible study, CrossWay On Purpose. First we had a delicious cookout and played horseshoes, topped off by some delicious and rather creative desserts.

To begin the Bible study, we played darts. Sort of. Everyone got one shot at nailing the bullseye on the dartboard. Everyone managed to hit the dartboard, but only a couple people–both young kids–managed to get close to the bullseye.

We used this experience to talk about how fulfilling the church’s purposes is like taking aim at a target. We have to know exactly where we’re aiming each ministry effort. To further illustrate this concept, we drew a target that Pastor Rick Warren uses at Saddleback Church. In the center–the bullseye–are mature disciples of Jesus Christ who are living for and serving Him. They are the core. The next circle out are the committed, who are developing a daily relationship with Jesus but haven’t necessarily found their ministry niche. Circling them are the congregation–those who consider the church their home and attend regularly. Beyond them are the crowd, who are not church members but have visited. And the widest circle is the community, consisting of those who live within a reasonable driving distance of the church.

Our goal as a church is to connect with people in the community and move them continually toward the center, from the community to the crowd to the congregation to the committed to the core. When they’re at the core, they have embraced Jesus’ purposes for their lives and move back out into the community to serve Him, keeping the cycle going and the church growing. We must be intentional about having strategic steps in place to move people continually closer to the core. With everything we do as a church, we need to know which of these five groups we’re targeting. If we don’t know where we’re aiming, we’ll never hit the target.

When we got into the Scriptures, we spent the evening in the Book of Acts. We examined Acts 1:8; 2:41-47; 4:32-35; 5:42; 6:1-7. In these passages, we discovered that this is what God wants us as a church to be and to do:

· witness

· be Spirit-filled

· receive power

· be Jesus’ witnesses

· be missionaries

· witness to everyone

· witness to those nearby & far away

· accept Jesus’ message

· be baptized

· baptize others

· gladly receive the Word

· be devoted to the apostles’ teaching

· be devoted to fellowship

· be steadfast

· celebrate Communion

· pray

· do signs & wonders

· be in awe

· have unity

· live in community

· share

· provide for peoples’ needs

· give financially

· be selfless

· be aware of and understand one another’s needs

· be non-materialistic

· have good communication

· meet daily

· have fellowship meals

· practice hospitality

· meet in homes

· be glad

· have sincere hearts

· create an atmosphere for God to bring people together

· go to church—corporate worship services

· praise God

· be open & accepting

· make the community better

· have the favor of the people

· have singleness of heart

· have a Christlike attitude

· be a growing church

· be united in heart & mind

· share

· be generous

· put others first

· be selfless

· give to the church, so resources can be distributed

· be Spirit-empowered

· continue—don’t give up

· testify with power to Jesus’ resurrection

· let God’s grace work in us powerfully

· take care of people’s needs

· give to meet needs

· teach & preach—every day, never stop

· share the Gospel where we are—in church & outside of church

· take care of practical needs (like food)

· care for widows

· have structure

· choose the right people for the job

· be a functioning, organized church

· seek the Holy Spirit’s leading

· be organic

· have a leadership structure

· set aside people to focus on prayer & Bible teaching

· be willing to serve

· distribute responsibility

· embrace our unique gifts

· be in agreement

· pray

· lay hands on each other in prayer

· spread the Word of God

We closed with a time of prayer.

The plan had been for us all to go into Ocean City afterward to watch the fireworks, but unfortunately they were postponed a day because of the wind.  We had 15 people present for the Bible study, including 5 first-timers.

On Wednesday, June 20, we held our first session of CrossWay On Purpose.  There were 10 present, and we had a really good study and discussion.

We began with a treasure hunt.  The group was given an envelope with a clue, which led to the location of the next clue.  Each clue was a Bible verse.  For instance, the first clue was: “He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself” (1 Samuel 24:3).  The group quickly deduced that the next clue was hidden in the mens room–you can guess where.  Our search led us to the guinea pig cage, out to the gate by the playground, to one of the tires on Carolyn’s car, then to the church sign out by the highway, and finally to a large wooden cross in the sanctuary.  At the foot of the cross was a treasure chest containing the folders for CrossWay On Purpose.

Discovering God’s purpose for His church is a lot like that.  He reveals His purposes for His church in His Word–the Bible.  Our job is simply to unearth them, much like going on a treasure hunt. 

We also talked about how it’s not our place to come up with our own agenda, our own plans, our own ideas regarding what the church should be about.  It’s not our church!  It’s God’s church–He simply gives us the privilege and the responsibility of being a part of it.  So our goal is not to dredge up our own opinions and plans; our goal is to find out who God wants CrossWay Church to be and what He wants CrossWay Church to do.

Then LJ Timmons, a CrossWay elder, led the Bible study and discussion.  Each participant was given a folder from the treasure chest, which contained a list of Bible passages, a list of questions to study each passage, and room to write down their thoughts about each one.

As the group talked, we wrote down everything these passages said about what what the church is to be and do.  In this first session, we examined Matthew 5:13-16; 9:35; 11:28-30; 16:15-19; 18:19-20.  Here’s our list of what these verses teach us about who we’re to be and what we’re to do: 

·         be an example

·         be salt (flavor, preservation)

·         be light

·         be seen, visible

·         make disciples

·         do good deeds

·         good deeds to be seen for God’s glory & praise

·         shine

·         live our lives to be an example—attitude

·         put the Light on a stand—lift up Jesus

·         spread the Word, the Gospel of the Kingdom

·         meet people’s physical needs

·         minister to the whole being

·         continue what Jesus began

·         teach how to love God & love people

·         teach how to be obedient to God

·         teach about a relationship with God

·         go into the towns & villages

·         heal the sick & diseased

·         help people in need

·         have compassion

·         be available

·         provide rest for souls

·         be gentle & humble in heart

·         carry each other’s burdens

·         be a place of rest & refreshment

·         come to Jesus

·         not complicate the Gospel

·         remove/lift burdens rather than add them

·         be meek & lowly in heart—not proud & arrogant

·         show the Way to forgiveness & freedom & rest

·         acknowledge Jesus for who He is

·         experience Jesus with our hearts

·         personally receive God’s revelation & conviction

·         open the gates of Heaven

·         bring people home

·         be “little rocks”

·         stand against the enemy

·         “bind” & “loose”

·         bind sin

·         kick demonic butt

·         come against sin

·         pray

·         be stewards of God’s authority

·         believe what God says

·         come together in Jesus’ name

·         ask & agree in Jesus’ name

·         work well together

·         ask in expectation, believing

·         take God at His Word

·         experience God’s presence together

There was some great discussion about the need for us to really, truly, deeply, personally believe these things for ourselves before we’re able to pass them on to others.  There was also some frustration over the question: “But how do we actually do these things in practical ways in our current setting?”  I love that question and the frustration over it, because I know that at the end of the study it will translate into creative applications.

We closed with a time of group prayer, which included some powerful silence.  I love silence in prayer–it houses some of the holiest moments!

If you weren’t able to attend this first meeting and would like a CrossWay On Purpose study folder, please let me know and I’ll be happy to get one to you.  Meanwhile, we’ll be at it again on Wednesday, June 27.  The session runs from 6:30-8:00 p.m.  And so you can plan ahead–we will be meeting on July 4, which falls on a Wednesday.  What we’ll do is start with a cookout.  Eating begins at 5:30.  We’ll have the Bible study at its regular time and then head into Ocean City for the fireworks.

For the next few weeks we’re holding a church-wide Bible study on Wednesday nights.  It’s called CrossWay On Purpose, and its goal is to discover God’s design for CrossWay Church.  Over the next few weeks we’re studying quite a few Bible passages to see what God says about His plan for His church.  We’re focusing on two things: what God wants the church to be, and what God wants the church to do.  We’re compiling a huge list of everything we learn from these Scriptures about the answers to these questions.  At the end of the study, we’ll personalize it by talking about how we can apply everything we’ve discovered.  In other words, how can CrossWay be and do what God wants us to be and do?

Since I know that not everyone who wants to participate can realistically attend each week, I’ll be posting a summary of each session here.  (You’ll be able to find them all by looking in the column at the right and selecting “CrossWay On Purpose” under “Categories.”)  It would be ideal to put this summary on the church website, but since it’s still under construction, I’ll put it on this blog.  Each week I’ll email a link to the new post to everyone on the church email list.  If you don’t receive the email and would like to be added to the list, simply leave a comment below this post or email me (there’s a link to email me at the top right of this page).