Why Do We Need the Church? Connection for Deep Roots
Acts 2:46
Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.
Have you had the chance to see the movie, The Jesus Revolution?
If not, I hope you will consider streaming it. The movie came out in 2023 and tells the story of Greg Laurie, the Pastor at Harvest Christian Fellowship, and how God saved him and called him to ministry during what Billy Graham called “The Jesus Revolution.” The story also gives us a glimpse into the Jesus movement of the late 1960s and 1970s. There are even some that say it continued into the 1980s. If you have an opportunity, I hope you will take a look and enjoy the move.
I have watched the movie several times now and find myself crying at the end every time. Why? Something happened to me that was a direct result of the Jesus Movement.
In the mid-1970s, my family joined a church in the area of Memphis where I grew up. My dad’s health was declining, our family was facing some challenges, and the church we joined responded to the challenges we were facing. My parents became friends with a couple in that church, Bill and Pat Maxwell. Both Bill and Pat are in heaven today however, I will forever consider them to be spiritual influences in my life as well as in the life of my parents.
On Friday evenings we would go to the Maxwell's home, along with quite a few other people. We would all sit around and listen to people share testimonies about what God was doing in their lives. Sometimes there would be “special guests” such as Dave Ripley and Shad Williams. God was doing something remarkable in these two men’s lives and they were traveling the world sharing the Gospel of Jesus. There would be deep times of prayer. There would be singing and laughter. I remember times of brokenness and sorrow. I also remember the joy that I would witness in the room.
Now, I think it is important to know something. Most, if not all, of those who attended were members of our church. And what we were seeing and experiencing was Acts 2:46, “Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house…” I was experiencing house-to-house discipleship. Keep in mind, I was a young teenager, maybe 6th or 7th grade. But this made an incredible impact on me.
Bill and Pat had been heavily influenced by the Jesus Movement of the 1970s. This ignited in their hearts a passion for the Word of God, a passion to see lost people come to Christ, and a passion for personal spiritual growth. And the result in me? It made the Bible come alive.
Although I was saved as a child, the time around the Maxwells, those Friday night Bible Studies, the testimonies of how God was at work, the lost people I saw saved, and the transformation that occurred in the lives of so many people, created a thirst in me for the deeper life of Christ. In short, their walk with Christ and the joy they experience was contagious. And I began to grow in my faith.
I needed the church because I needed to be spurred on in my faith. I needed my faith to develop deep roots. I needed what we often call discipleship.
For nearly 40 years, I have served in the church in vocational ministry. There is a tendency to see discipleship from the lens of an institution. Sometimes we think of discipleship from the perspective of education and our language suggests more of an academic learning process. While that may be a part of discipleship, real spiritual growth comes when we spur on one another. It is relational, it is meaningful, and it is purposeful.
We need the church because we need to be spurred on to the deeper life of Christ. I am grateful for Bill and Pat Maxwell. I am grateful for their three children, Whitney, Jeff, and Doug. These people shaped me, formed me, and showed me the deeper life of Christ.
Who is it or who was it in your life that made that kind of difference in you? Who in your church life spurred you into a deeper fellowship with Christ? Who are you spurring on to the deeper life with Christ? To whom are you showing the depth of the Christ-life?