It Takes a Church

Which do you prefer: team sports or individual? Personally, I’ve always gravitated towards the individual. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of pursuing the perfect ski run down a long moguled mountain. I doubt I’ll ever stop tracking how quickly I can ride my bike up Butterfield Canyon. I’ve always been drawn to solitary sports that push your physical and mental limits. 

But it’s interesting that team sports are more fun for me to watch. All the biggest sporting events--the Super Bowl, World Cup, etc.--are team sports. There are probably a number of reasons for this, but I think a lot of it comes down to the teamwork. The excitement multiplies with each person on the field when you get to watch them work together to achieve something none of them could have done alone.

Team sports are harder because you have to learn to work together as a team. Often, a single star player isn’t enough to carry the team to the highest successes. Often, a bunch of mediocre players can win against superior players, and the thing that makes the difference is great teamwork.

When it comes to the Christian life, is it a team or individual pursuit? Certainly we see aspects of both in Scripture. Faith in Jesus requires individual belief. You aren’t a Christian simply because you were born into a Christian household or go to church. But as I look through the Bible, the bulk of the Chrisitan life is described more as a team effort than as an individual one.

One of the most clear examples is in Ephesians 4:11-16: 

11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Paul has no concept of spiritual growth outside of a local church. Notice how everyone has some responsibility. The leaders of the church help to equip the people (vv 11-12). These equipped people then do works of service (also translated “ministry,” v. 12), speak the truth in love to one another (v. 15), and serve in their particular roles within the body (v. 16). What is the result? A collective unity (v. 13) and maturity (vv. 13 & 15) in the church. Notice how Paul casts spiritual maturity as a corporate thing, not an individual thing. It’s impossible to be a mature Christian without being connected into the life of a local church. Your spiritual maturity is organically tied to the maturity of those around you. When you grow spiritually, it has an effect on those around you. When you decline spiritually, it has an effect on those around you. Our lives are linked together because we share in God’s spirit together. 

If we thought of spiritual maturity and growth more like how Scripture describes it, it would transform our church. Unfortunately, we tend to think of Christianity as if it’s an individual sport, or at most, as a family activity. But don’t you see we are all part of the same body? What you do affects, for good or bad, others in the body. 

The elders at Jordan Valley Church have been wrestling with this question lately: How do we encourage the health and growth of the whole church? How do we help people to see Christianity as a team pursuit? In short, how do we do discipleship well in the church? Discipleship is simply helping the body grow into maturity. 

This is one of the reasons we developed this six week module on prayer. Our goal is for the whole church to participate. And we trust that as you all join in, it will have the effect of a rising tide–all of us will be lifted higher. I’m personally excited about this study because of how much it focuses on practical exercises. You will have opportunities to pray for and with others in our congregation and other churches. We’ll even have a day of fasting and prayer for the whole church. It’s easy to treat our faith as simply intellectual–and it certainly is that–but an intellectual faith that doesn’t manifest itself in actions isn’t a true and living faith. Some of the activities might push you out of your comfort zone, but that’s okay; that’s how you grow stronger. 

I’m hoping you’ll join us on this journey to grow in prayer over the next six weeks. 

In Christ,
Pastor Jon