A New King

All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.’ ” When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years. The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David. On that day David had said, “Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to use the water shaft to reach those ‘lame and blind’ who are David’s enemies.” That is why they say, “The ‘blind and lame’ will not enter the palace.” David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the terraces inward. And he became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him.

The people did not try to hold on to the past too tightly

—for many of the people their leader was gone

—for others they were ready to share David with the Northern tribes

The people focused on what they had in common with God’s chosen leader

—they were from the same larger family

—they also wanted to follow the LORD.

They came together to put their full support behind David

—they made conscious decisions

—they publicly expressed their support

David moved immediately to unify the people and strengthen their position

—David finds a location they can all rally around

—Together they strengthen their position by bold action

But the key to it all was the Lord

He was with them and this made all the good decisions and faithful actions possible.

In Judges everyone just pleased themselves and it lead to nothing good. Division. Infighting. Bondage.

Surrender is our part in a covenant with God. It allows so many good things to happen. God won’t force his blessings on us.

Fairmeadow Parallels

On the first anniversary of my ministry here we have the opportunity to follow in their footsteps.

In our church two families have discovered what they have in common and become one.

We took some bold actions that strengthened our position.

We’ve reached a couple of new families.

It’s time to keep looking forward, not back.

It’s time to build on what we have in common.

But most importantly it’s time to keep our focus on God. Not just on Sundays. Not just in realm of ideas. But in our actual way of life.

The way we can truly take new territory is to continue to expand how we think about growing. Events take a lot of energy and are dependent on a lot of factors outside of our control. They also can create a client-type relationship with new people. The pressure becomes on the church to deliver an experience that pleases people. We can handle some of this. But it becomes a zero-sum game. We can get caught in a race to impress. Most importantly it may not change lives very much.

What changes lives is other lives. We have to know each other to learn from each other. Sharing meals together is good for bonding. That’s what we will do on a large scale next Sunday at the all church potluck. If being a Christian remains mostly about believing certain things and gathering once a week in a building we won’t look much like the early church. We won’t change very many lives and it will be difficult to maintain.

But if being a Christian can become about a set of practices we engage in because of what we believe, that will strengthen everything about us.

Pray

1. Christian disciples learn to pray every day in a disciplined way. Alone and together. Not just about a laundry list of requests but about becoming more like Jesus.

Serve

2. Christian disciples serve each other with their gifts. Some of us are teachers, some are encouragers, some are prophets who call us back to center, some of us are evangelists who lead the way in helping all of us reach out, some of us have administrative ability, some of us are creative, some of us quietly serve behind the scenes, some of us have talents we can share. There is some way for everyone to contribute. God gave you these gifts and abilities. Find out where your services can make a difference.

Gather

3. Christian disciples gather with other believers to share life and hospitality. This happens on Sundays but it should also happen during the week. In homes, in third spaces like a restaurant or coffee shop we can enjoy each other in different ways. We need this. Sociologists study human relationships and well-being. They are warning us that something is wrong in our culture. We are chasing unobtainable financial and physical goals. We are retreating into our devices. We are getting our news from increasingly biased sources on one side or the other. Christians aren’t supposed to take a political side. We are on the side of peace and reconciliation. We are on the side of redemption and the gospel. The antidote to the depression and anxiety of today’s world is found in sharing a life of peace with each other. We find what we have in common and we learn what we didn’t previously understand. We contribute to blessing others. We learn to follow the way of Jesus—a life of laying down our lives. We have to learn to listen and not dominate conversations. Our goal must be growing in grace. If you think you have it all figured out you should go start your own church, not try to dominate this one.

Invite

4. Christian disciples invite others into their lives who don’t know the way of Jesus yet. So we need to open up our gatherings to new people from time to time. But those who would join our fellowship at deeper levels need to demonstrate a willingness to learn about following Jesus. So if people are truly desiring to learn what following Jesus can mean they can come and listen and learn and grow with us.

New Life

We have a beautiful building. It’s a powerful symbol with a humble cross lifted high on a steeple. But the building is just a symbol for the life of the kingdom spilling out into the streets from what is happening at the center of our fellowship. Our building will start to show its age. If we rely on it, we will find it too heavy to carry. The real show is in our homes, at work, in our backyards, or down at the coffee shop where we gather and demonstrate what it means to follow Jesus.

Let’s start to put equal energy in how we will LIVE the faith together. 4 Practices to focus on this summer: