The Long-Term Fruit of Christian Believers Meetings
The fruit of Christian believers meetings can be seen in the people who’ve been a part of them for decades.
I sometimes watch people, especially older people who’ve been a Christian for many years. Christian believers meetings should build and produce something wonderful within Christians over the years. Sometimes older Christians behave just as immature as someone who just became a Christian. Seeing this in one or two individuals is one thing. But seeing this across many churches and denominations shows something may be off. If this is seen all over the place and is the norm instead of the occasion. Then it is evidence that something is deeply wrong. Something deeply wrong with how these older Christians had been discipled for decades.
Christian believers meetings, as designed by the Lord, are meant to disciple Christians.
Its easy to be disgusted with older immature believers and wonder what’s wrong with their attitude. But its better to learn from them, respond to what they are showing us with behavior. See that behavior as our likely future if we don’t change course.
Be Spiritually Active
Spiritual activity is rarely teaching and leading people, which only a tiny minority of Christians engage in (the pastors or teachers).
There are only so many teachers needed when a sermon is the center of meetings. There are only so many children’s leaders and nursery workers necessary.
Even at the most active and churches with the highest numbers of volunteers, 20-30% of the people do all the work. With the pastor(s) themselves expected to earn their wage and do the most.
Even in the most active churches, the vast majority of people show up, sit and listen silently like at school. The serious and devout ones perhaps take notes, get to do announcements and shout ‘Amen’.
The Meetings Themselves
The meeting style Jesus and Paul showed us, if adhered to, is brilliant in many ways.
Below are nine ways Jesus meetings are designed for discipleship. I’ve learned these by periodically meeting this way myself and from others who routinely meet this way.
- The meeting itself provides spiritual activity for every person present. This spiritual activity trains us to hear from the Spirit of God within and in others. Open participatory sharing of Christ involve sharing, giving, speaking, singing, bringing something of Jesus to feed others. (1 Cor 14:26)
- The meetings themselves facilitate ‘iron sharpening iron’ helping us to know how to handle conflict and remain loving. This alone deepens relationships like nothing else can. How many people have you attended church with for years yet barely know? You don’t sharpen them and they don’t sharpen you because you don’t interact, other than a passing greeting. (Prov 27:17)
- The meeting itself emboldens the shy to speak up and to share Christ. (2 Cor 4:13, Rom 16:16)
- The meetings themselves help the extrovert to periodically sit and listen to others and to not dominate. It helps them to appreciate God through the introvert (who won’t share unless trained and expected to). (Eph 5:21 “submit to one another”)
- The meetings themselves lighten the load of the pastor expected to be a religious superhero and often burn out after ~7 years. (Gal 6:2 “bear one another’s burdens”)
- The meetings themselves are the discipleship program of the spirit of Jesus Christ (John 14:26 “the spirit will teach you all things.”)
- The meetings provide provision for the poor members or visitors through the generosity of the members. (2 Cor 8:14) This is the real paying of tithe to the storehouse of God. The members themselves are the building stones of this house of God.
- The meetings themselves include every generation cooperating and learning from one another. Not one generation dominating or pushing out another based on age. (1Peter 5:5, 1 Tim 4:12)
- The meeting itself is evangelistic, when the unbeliever comes in and sees an active God speaking and operating through common people. “She will declare God is surely among you” and become a Christian. (1 Cor 14:25)
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