Participants of Grace

One of our values at Centerpoint church is participation. It should go without saying that every church should have participation. We are to participate in offerings, participate in serving, participate in care services, etc. We should all be participating in the activities of the church. So far, this is an obvious point for most. Some reading this might not have known that we, as the church, are called to participate with one another in the operations of the local church. Well, we are and you are. We are not called to consumerism, we are called to active participation; young/old, male/female, educated/uneducated; we are all called to participate.

However, while the activities of the local church are an obvious and good place to start, there is another area that is vital to our lives as followers of Jesus and vital to our community as followers of Jesus. That area is participation in life together with God and with one another. What I mean by this is that we would be self-revealing about our mental, emotional, spiritual, physical, and relational aspects of our lives to God in private confession and in obedience to God in communal participation of confession to one another. We are called to participate in the lives of our local church’s community.

In the beginning…

 Why is this vital? Well, humanity (which includes you and I) was not made for isolation but for community with God and one another with us actively participating in that community. The mention of God walking in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3 suggests that communal participation in life that Adam and Eve shared with God. The story of Cain and Abel suggests that there should have been a communal participation in their sacrifice and worship of God but that there was not. This lack of participation plays out as Cain acts in a competitive way, rather than a relational way. Eventually, this boils over for him and he ultimately kills Abel. Instead of esteeming one another higher, heeding the warning of God, Cain esteems Abel the competition, the rival, and kills him.
 
Look at the Covenants in Genesis, the miracles in Exodus, the stories in Numbers, the laws in Leviticus, and the sermons of Deuteronomy; they all point to communal life and participation together with God and man. Sadly, sin has consistently marred our history with selfishness and isolation. The final line in Judges says, “And every man did what was right in his own eyes.” Such a hauntingly true line for then but it continues to ring out through the annals of time and, with all its minor chord notes, rings true for us today.

Emmanuel

But this is not the end. Redemption is shone in small ways through the continuity of Scripture and the call to return to communion with God and one another is the refrain of the prophets. Then, in glorious mundanity and humility that would make us all blush, Jesus is born. The God-man; Emmanuel. Emmanuel, meaning, “God with us.” Jesus is the living, breathing, tangible, God in the flesh who walked among us, ate with us, drank with us, taught us, experienced humanity in its fullness of joys, pains, and frailty. In the most humble obedience, according to Philippians, in the oneness of His communal and abiding relationship with the other persons of the Trinity, out of His love and mercy and compassion for us, Jesus pays for the wages of our sins with His death. This act of love, of participation in God’s law and plan, restores the right communal relationship between God and humanity.
 
The Bible continues on in the Acts of the Apostles, to showcase how the community of followers of Jesus developed into the church. The canon of scripture continues with the early church fathers, Paul, Peter, John, James, writing the Epistles and other letters teaching us theology, doctrine, and practical applications for communal participation. They plead that love for God and one another be chief among us as we serve and utilize the gifts given to us by God. That we would, in communal participation, esteem one another higher than ourselves, weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. We see, in all aspects of life, we are to participate together.

Scriptural Commands

With much knowledge comes much sorrow, and while the various shifts in philosophy, mathematics, science, and even religion, throughout the ages have brought us some amazing discoveries; they have also fed into the isolation and selfishness that plagues humanity. Unfortunately, this plague entered the pews and pulpits of our churches, even today. People are participating less and less in the community of the local church. There are various reasons for this. Maybe we are too tired and need rest. Maybe we are uneducated and need to be taught. Maybe we are wounded and need healing. Maybe. But even if we are one or more of those reasons, it reveals a lack of participation with Christ Himself.

Scripture commands us to go to Jesus if we are weary and burdened (Matt. 11:28-30); Scripture commands us to go to the elders for anointing and prayer if we are sick (Jam. 5:14-15); Scripture commands us to confess our sins to one another (Jam. 5:16), to go and make things right with our brothers or sisters who we have conflict with or who have conflict with us (Matt. 5:23-24; 18:15-17); Scripture commands us to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the lives of our local church and our cities (Matt. 28:19-20; Matt. 25:34-40;). Scripture commands us to love another as Jesus has loved us and by that the world will know we are His disciples (Jhn. 13:34). Coupled with the lack of participation, in terms of outward doing and serving within a local church, is also a lack of participation in the self-revealing rhythms of life in the local church’s community.

The Way Together

This is why we, at Centerpoint Church in Simi Valley, are focusing on the value of participation. The wiring of our humanity declares it innate, the anxiety and depression of isolation demands it necessary, the success of a well-lived life denotes its importance, but above all the Bible in its divinely inspired wisdom prescribes it as holy and true and integral to being a follower of Jesus. If we are to be followers of Jesus, obedient to scripture, led by the Holy Spirit, then we must participate in the lives of the community of followers of Jesus.
 
Make no mistake, it will be messy. Humanity is messy. But Jesus stepped into each of our messy lives, made us alive when we were dead in our trespasses, washed us from black as sin to white as snow with His perfect crimson blood, and daily walks with us as we learn to travel on the narrow road. Therefore, we ought to love one another because we have been loved so much and we ought to invade the messiness of one another’s lives because our mess was invaded. We need to participate in The Way together.