Habit 5: Be the Church by Garden City Church

Part 2: GROW LIFE

“Do you want to become Jesus’ disciple? Repent, believe the gospel, and follow Jesus. Do you want to grow stronger as a disciple of Jesus? Repent, believe the gospel, and follow Jesus.”

Stephen Smallman

PART 2 OF OUR DISCIPLESHIP

CULTURE BEGINS WITH THE VERB

“GROW.”

First we receive, second we grow. Grace

is received, then grace grows. God planted new life in our hearts so that it would grow into something more beautiful and big than we can imagine. As our new life in Christ deepens roots below the surface, a strong trunk begins to grow—symbolizing our pursuit of maturity for ourselves and one another. Making disciples is the lifelong journey of maturing disciples. Though you stopped growing physically in your early 20s, we can all continue to grow and help others grow in Christ long into our 100s or however long God gives us on this side of the grave. This is exciting. You don’t have to stay the way you are, you can grow. Your Christian and non-Christian friends don’t have to stay the way they are, God can grow them. The culture around you doesn’t have to stay the way it is, the culture can change—and God can use you to make this happen.

Habit 5: Be the Church GATHER & SCATTER

Western civilization, particularly American culture, is steeped in individual-

ism. By default we approach God, life, and others with an individualistic lens. But following Jesus leads us away from a mere individualistic identity into a corporate identity. We belong. We belong to God and we belong to God’s church. Jesus died for the church, and the local church is his Plan A (there’s no Plan B) for gathering his people and making himself known. To use the metaphor of a wheel: The local church is not one spoke among many spokes in your busy life with you as an individual at the center of the hub. Instead, at the center of the hub is “us”—the local church community—which defines who you are and shapes how you approach the “spokes” of life. We don’t “go to church,” we are the church. Our privilege is to be the church all week long as we both gather and scatter, each of us playing a vital role in contributing to the life of the church.

MEMORIZE

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. - Acts 2:42-47

STUDY AND DISCUSS ACTS 2:1-47, THE BIRTH OF THE CHURCH/THE DAY OF PENTECOST.

What role did the Holy Spirit play in establishing the first church, and what

role does the Holy Spirit play in churches today? What excites you and challenges you from this chapter about the church? What do verses 42-47 describe about the identity and practice of the first church, and how should this guide the church today? How do verses 42-47 compare or contrast with what you’ve experienced in the church? Why is individualism a hindrance to the biblical vision of the church, and what can we do as a church to overcome this? What is God saying to your Discipleship Group or Life Group? What’s your next step? Also discuss connections between this text and the core book you’re reading.

GATHER. Build a lifetime habit of gathering with the church.

Ekklesia, the Greek word we translate as “church,” means “gathered assem-

bly.” The local church is a family God has chosen and gathered to worship him and be the light of the world. There is zero New Testament evidence for a long-ranger disciple. Instead, disciples gather with a local church that faithfully preaches the Scriptures, administers the sacraments of baptism and communion, loves God and one another, practices the priesthood and contribution of each member, is wisely governed by a qualified team of servant hearted male elders, and covenants to belong together. Garden City Church is built upon the rhythm of a weekly Sunday gathering of the whole church family, a regular (generally weekly) Life Group/Discipleship Group gathering of a smaller and more intimate slice of the church family, the self-directed get togethers and meetings that take place within the church, and periodic special events or trainings. Discuss as a group our culture’s trend away from gathering (church “attendance” is on decline in the Western world), how you prioritize gathering with your church family, and any next leadership steps God might be calling you to take to strengthen the gathering culture of our church. May we all become strong “gatherers” in our church and city, reflecting the image of our God who gathers his people together.

“The church lies at the very center of the eternal purpose of God. It is not a divine afterthought. It is not an accident of history. On the contrary, the church is God’s new community. For his purpose, conceived in a past eternity, being worked out in history, and to be perfected in a future eternity, is not just to save isolated individuals and so perpetuate our loneliness, but rather to build his church, that is, to call out of the world a people for his own glory.”

John Stott

CONTRIBUTE AND SERVE—PLAY YOUR ROLE IN OUR CHURCH FAMILY.

We belong to each other. We need each other. One of the big recoveries of

the Great Reformation was a recovery of “the priesthood of all believers,” the biblical call for every member of the church to contribute to the life and mission of the church. You have a unique role to play in our church body. What role are you playing? What needs are you meeting in our church? What larger role might God be calling you to play—what opportunities could you step into to serve and expand the life of our church? Discuss together, and encourage one another with how you see God at work in each other.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ…For the body does not consist of one member but of many… God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose…As it is, there are many parts, yet one body…Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

- 1 Corinthians 12 “We are never more like Jesus than when we are serving Him or others. There is no higher calling than to be a servant.” - Nancy Leigh DeMoss

JOIN—BECOME AN OFFICIAL MEMBER OF OUR CHURCH FAMILY.

If you haven’t done so already, we encourage you to work through our Mem-

bership Handbook and consider making an official commitment to join our church family. In our individualistic and transient culture, making this covenant is one of the most countercultural and life-giving decisions you can make. Whether you see yourself here for 30 years or just 3 years, we encourage to make this commitment and be all in with our very special and very imperfect community.

“The community of the saints is not an ‘ideal community’ consisting of perfect and sinless men and women, where there is no need of further repentance. No, it is a community which proves that it is worthy of the gospel of forgiveness by constantly and sincerely proclaiming God’s forgiveness…It is a community of men and women who have genuinely encountered the precious grace of God, and who walk worthy of the gospel.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer 49

SCATTER. See that a main way God uses our church is when we are scattered throughout our city, representing the body of Christ, during the week.

In Silicon Valley we spend more of our week scattered, rather than gathered,

as a church. Most of our hours are spent in our homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, and schools. This is God’s brilliant design—he’s already put each of us in strategic places throughout our city to represent him as we live our ordinary lives with gospel intentionality, do our work, love people, and step into opportunities he creates for us. You don’t need to come up with a big missional strategy for your life, you already have one. Just steadily share the gospel and your life where God has already put you. Through your walk and your talk, your conduct and your content, God will use you as the scattered church. Church isn’t just about Sunday, it’s also about who we are and what we do on Monday. Discuss as a group how you see God at work through the scattering of our church.

“Most gospel ministry involves ordinary people doing ordinary things with gospel intentionality.” - Tim Chester

BE AN INVITER. CREATE A CULTURE OF INVITING PEOPLE INTO OUR CHURCH FAMILY.

The percentage of people who become Christians because a friend, neigh-

bor, or co-worker invited them to church is ridiculously high. God uses invitations. Who do you want to invite to our Sunday service, or into your Life Group or Discipleship Group? How do you want to do this? Discuss and pray through this together. Take action together.

“The church, then, is not something additional or optional. It is at the very heart of God’s purposes. Jesus came to create a people who would model what it means to live under his rule. It would be a glorious outpost of the kingdom of God, an embassy of heaven. This is where the world can see what it means to be truly human…If you warm to this vision of Christian community, then start where you are. Sell the vision by modeling the vision…make community infectious. Create something that other people want to be part of.”

Tim Chester

MEMORIZE

I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it

MAIN TAKEAWAY: We’re a church of disciples who practice the habit of being the church—gathering and scattering as God’s people.

What is God saying to you?

What’s your next step?

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES FOR HABIT 5: Garden City Church Membership Handbook Outgrowing the Ingrown Church, Jack Miller Simple Church, Thom S. Rainer and Eric Gieger The Church, Edmund P. Clowney Elders and Leaders, Gene Getz On Church Leadership, Mark Driscoll A Meal with Jesus, Tim Chester Seculosity, David Zahl