The Fellowship

Acts 2:42 ESV

And thy devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

It was evening service at Jefferson Street Baptist Church in Eureka, KS. Kelly and I were locked out and the person inside was literally waving and laughing at us. We had been in town two weeks at the time and were still trying to find a church, having only been married for three weeks, at the time, everything was still pretty new. Turns out the lady, a vivacious forty something high school Spanish teacher, who thought we were friends of a college couple from the area that she had taught, since “we looked so young”. The shades of red she turned when the young man next to her, whom she thought was our friend, asked who we were still brings a smile to my face. We ended up joining that church, and becoming good friends with that young man, but not before we were given a few lessons in church life.

One of those lessons has remained seared in my brain. Coming to the conclusion that this church, that didn’t want to let us in, was the one we wanted to be a part of, I took the unusual step (I have learned) of reading the Church Constitution and By-laws. The lesson seared in my mind is the reality that many of that congregation hadn’t read or didn’t bother following said document. This has turned out to be the norm for those churches we have chosen to join. In this case it was a line about “alcohol for medicinal use only” that was simply ignored by some in the congregation and not enforced by the rest. How do we understand this situation? Even given the age of many in the congregation, the church and its documents predated them, so all of those members had agreed to abstain from alcohol. All other issues aside they were in sin simply because they chose to pledge themselves to the teaching of the church and then violate that pledge, they were liars.

This same issue plays itself out across the theological spectrum, on varying issues. As the Methodist General Conference recently voted to affirm its book of Doctrine and attempt to actually enforce it, this same issue was made plain. They did not affirm any new verbiage or amendments. That means that those who were wanting the “full spectrum” of LGBTQ+ affirmed, and had worked for that change, were operating in a way that showed them to be dishonest people, no matter how nice they were. Recently, I have heard of multiple teachers in Catholic schools that are upset because they were fired for violating the police and teachings of the Catholic Church on human sexuality, one man and one woman in marriage. I find this interesting since I believe the churches policy hasn’t changed in a few hundred years on that issue.

I bring all these up because the central question becomes one of purpose. Do we want people in our club or do we want to be the bride of Christ? Holding to biblical standards of morality will be limiting. Those not wanting to submit to Christ as lord of their lives won’t be able to remain or perhaps won’t desire to remain. Being shut out will spur some to anger and others it will make wonder what they must do to “get in”. We however are responsible to make sure that the “apostles teaching” is being taught from the pulpit and that our congregations are “devoting themselves” to it, as well as to the fellowship, communion, and prayer.

CORAM DEO