Spiritual Disciplines Ep. 3: Community

Show Notes:

Matt: J.D., today we’ll cover our next spiritual discipline, and this week, we’re talking about the “discipline” of surrounding yourself with Christian community.

J.D.: Yeah, this is a good one. The first two spiritual disciplines we covered – Bible study and prayer – are kind of intuitive. While it’s sometimes easier said than done, most people understand that part of the Christian life involves prayer and Bible study and spending time with God.

But a lot of us don’t think of being in community as a “spiritual discipline.”

We think “If I show up to church most of the time, I’m all set.”

Or, “I got friends. I’m not lonely.”

Or, “I go to my small group most times, so I’ve checked the box here.”

And I hear a lot of people say, “Well, I love Jesus, and I have a strong relationship with God, I’m just not that committed to the church.” 

Hmm. How do I say this? That’s not true. I know that you think it’s true, but it’s just not. You might have great respect for Jesus, but Jesus very clearly said that if you loved him you would be committed to his church. He says it in John 15. You’re to love each other so much that you lay down your lives for each other. You can’t do that for somebody you’re not connected to or in relationship with. Jesus told Peter in John 21, “If you love me, show that by how well you take care of my sheep.”  

You can’t say you’re obedient to Jesus if you neglect those he commanded you to love. 

The church is the bride of Christ. You can’t love someone and hate their bride. 

How do you think I’d react if you said to me, “PJD, we love you. Can you come over to our house for dinner? And here’s the keys to our mountain house, please enjoy it. But… these invitations are not for Veronica. We like you, but we don’t care for her.” 

That conversation is not going to go well. I’m not coming for dinner! If you love me and want to be friends with me, you have to love and be friends with my life. Thankfully, btw, with my wife, that’s easy. People always like her better than me. People always notice me first because I’m up here, but if we get invited back to someone’s house a second time, it’s always because of her. 

Let’s stop for a second and talk about how Jesus demonstrated loving people well.

He lived among them 

He served them.

He spoke personally into their lives 

Now let’s walk through those quickly and apply them to our lives…

Jesus lived among people. 

He walked with them. Gave real time instruction. He commented on conversations he heard them muttering to each other. He confronted them in their mistakes and comforted them in their failures

We see this demonstrated in Paul’s life. In Acts 20, when Paul speaks to the Ephesians elders–

He says, “You know how I lived with and ministered to you night and day, available to you at all hours” (vs. 31). His speech to them included very specific counsel

Secondly, he personally served them. 

John 13. He didn’t do that for everybody, but those 12 

He spoke personally into their lives… 

Me with Paul Tripp on why megachurch pastors fall

Living in community has added richness to my life even though it's messy.

Prov. 27:10 says “Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away,” and we have an opportunity to be that for people through the church.

There’s also a limit to what God can do in your life if you’re not connected to the body. In 1 Cor. 12:25, Paul compares us in the church to members of the body. And at some point he asks, “How does the body care for it’s members?” answer: through other members!