So I was planning to follow up last week's post with one on how we need an alternative Christian public sphere, a place where we can share and discuss our views with each other. But then some really exciting things happened and got me thinking that we don't just need to swop opinions with each other; we need to be a different kind of community.
You see, I had the privilege of taking two friends down to Jeffreys Bay for Swot Week. Now you don't want to get me started on how awesome J-Bay is and how I always meet with God while I'm there, and this time was no exception.
It started with a chat I had with one of these friends, Leanne du Preez, at a coffee shop opposite the beach. We talked about how there are certain people who always get us going, spiritually. Each of us know the people we can go to just to chat, bounce some ideas off, pray with. The people who stimulate us in our faith so much that we feel like we could do anything with God after speaking with them. I'll call them encouragers.
Well, as God would have it, one of my encouragers lives in Jeffreys Bay: a family friend who is about my Mom's age. Her name is Avril. Avril truly tries to live in intimate communion with God and obey him at every step, and every time I come to Jeffreys Bay regales me with stories of the incredible things God has been doing with her. I really wanted Leanne and my other friend, Shellique Carby, to meet her and be encouraged by her too. So I invited her round for supper one evening. And yes, true to form, that evening was hugely blessed.
Things were a little awkward when we sat down and began chatting. After all, why would she want to meet my student friends? But as soon as we got down to telling her all about the great things God did through Christians @ Rhodes Week of Worship, and she told us about some of the miraculous things that had happened to her just recently, the vibe changed. This wasn't me introducing my friends to some random, middle-aged lady any more. This was church; this was family breaking bread together.
We got into some deep discussions about problems in each other's lives over coffee and koeksusters after the meal. It got a little intense at times, and after a short while we found we were talking around in circles. It was clear that none of us had the answers, but our Father did. So we got down and prayed about them. Avril began praying in short, simple sentences, letting her words be few as the Scriptures tell us we should. What followed was an intense time of praying into each other's lives. Both Avril and Leanne received some answers they'd been waiting a long time to hear. The room was so filled with God's presence that Leanne's hands were trembling. At the end we hugged each other and I was just laughing for joy in the Lord's presence. God had used each of us to minister to each other!
As Avril left, Leanne commented that it felt like she had known her forever, when we had spent only six hours together. We had a spiritual connection: the same Spirit is in us!
I've been thinking about that time and delighting in my memories of it for a few days now. But it hasn't been the only time this week when I've been overjoyed to be part of God's family. I've been overjoyed at news of brothers and sisters getting together in partnerships in which they have the potential to do far more for the kingdom of God than both of them could do separately. I've been 'adopted' as an extra sibling by another friend of mine. Yet at times I've felt ashamed at these thoughts: Why should I be so happy at being in this holy huddle when there are so many out there who are out in the cold, far from God?
Then this morning, I read something that pulled it all together for me. In Acts 18:9-10, God encourages Paul in a vision. He says "Don't be afraid! Speak out! Don't be silent! For I am with you, and no one will harm you because many people here in this city belong to me." Paul had good reason to be very afraid. He was in an incredibly dark city, Corinth. The god Aphrodite was the centre of attraction, and she was worshipped through all manner of sexually immoral acts. Yet Paul could stand up and speak out because God had many people in that city!
If you read the whole passage, from verse 1 to verse 17, you see these 'many people' in action. Aquila and Priscilla (an example of a couple that functioned like a ministry partnership if ever there was one) took Paul in when he arrived in town, and allowed him to earn an income working in their business. Later, a guy called Titius Justus hosted him. Silas and Timothy came around, allowing Paul to focus his attentions on telling the Good News to the Jews. And Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, no doubt was a great help when he became a believer along with his family.
But notice the purpose of all this teamwork: it wasn't just to make each other feel nice and loved. It was to support each other so that Paul and others could carry on fearlessly telling the Good News! In the same way, we have to be a radical family for each other, helping each other to spread the Good News of the kingdom.
One of the things I told Leanne back in the coffee shop was something my father told me: Major church growth happens when you've got a small group of like-minded people feeding off each other's energy and vision. It's happened in churches like Willow Creek in the USA and Holy Trinity Brompton in Britain. It happened in Corinth. And it can happen here too, if we dare turn our fellowship outwards.
PS. After all that earnestness, here's some pure family lightheartedness to break the exam tension. Take a moment to visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTYr3JuueF4!
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