The Phil Files

I’m sitting here at my beloved MacBook keyboard still drippin’ wet from working out this morning. Since returning from our trip as a family, I’ve rejoined the world of the committed to exercise, dropping weight, and eating properly — in other words, that “Big Guy” would just like to be that “Medium-sized Guy” once again!

As with any discipline, the first week back in the trenches of hand to hand combat with your own lack of discipline in an area of your life is tough. But alas, it is right … past due … and needed. So, I pedal forth and push onward seeking to leave bits of my former self in my vapor trail.

Meanwhile, we launch into some exciting stuff with Colossians and different types of targeted worship gatherings in August, so there is much work and prayer and study in prep. This one I’m not drippin’ with sweat, but drippin’ with great anticipation. Whether you want to call stuff missional (ah yes, all the rage the last few years in churchland lingo) or targeted or strategic, my hope is that it is a return to the integrity of real community and devotion (Acts 2:42-47 NLT).

Click the link above and notice that these early followers of Jesus were devoted to four things (vs. 42):

the apostles’ teaching

fellowship

sharing in the Lord’s Supper

prayer

What I find most interesting is that most folks miss Luke’s definition of each of these four in the verses that follow (click the words and see Luke’s description:

the apostles’ teaching - Acts 2:43 (NLT)

fellowship - Acts 2:44-45 (NLT)

sharing the Lord’s Supper [literally, "the breaking of bread"] Acts 2:46 (NLT)

prayer Acts 2:47 (NLT)

Even more impressive, they were devoted to these things — not just individually, but as a community. So while I’m committed to not lag behind behind in my renewed commitment to physical discipline, I’m even more committed to being devoted to seeing this kind of community truly formed in God’s people in my neck of the woods. What about you?

Onward ho!

(And tomorrow or the next day, we’ll poke around what each of these means!)

Last Updated: 8.03.08

For Sunday: 8.24.08

DAYBREAK

Time in the Word will focus on Colossians 4 and see this list of names. These are real folks. Just like us. Part of the flawed, but Christ-formed people of God. Each with strengths … and weaknesses (point out a couple). We are these people — flawed, but being built into a counter kingdom to impact the world around us. Over the next several weeks … we will decide whether we will be this kind of people or merely church pretenders. But God is at work, with the help of his servants, to bring this Christ-formed identity to life in us — displaying his character and compassion (1:29).

Each of the threads (below) will be woven together into a whole, with a focus on our different stories, our different histories being woven into one group, a Transforming Community, that lives by “subversive goodness” to make a difference in the world.

Video Clips: Robin’s Video Testimony & The Point Video?

REFRESH

At the Table: (Speaking time 5-7 minutes, broken up as helpful.) Look at your fingerprints. Compare them to someone next to you. We leave them everywhere we touch. Sometimes, they testify of the wrong places and wrong things we have done. Other times, we leave them as testimony of good things we have done. We are mix of both, aren’t we. But God wore real fingerprints, too. Those fingerprints belonged to Jesus. And He left fingerprints stained with blood on a cross so our wrongly placed fingerprints are not permanent evidence of our betrayal of God’s values and truth. And as we gather around this table and share this meal, we commit to be willing to leave our fingerprints in places that need Jesus’ healing touch of grace … and each one of us can do that in ways as unique as our own … fingerprints. (Focus on how we would do communion time — songs, how served, integrate Garden of Prayer into this time?)

Time in the Word: Near the end, 7 minutes including reading of text (1:1-5). Look at Colossians 4 and see this list of names. These are real folks. Just like us. Part of the flawed, but Christ-formed people of God. Each with strengths … and weaknesses (point out a couple). We are these people — flawed, but being built into a counter kingdom to impact the world around us — agents of “subversive goodness.” Over the next several weeks … over this semester … we will decide whether we will be this kind of people or merely church pretenders. Each week, the time at the Table calls us back to our commitment to be a community where the character and compassion of Christ are lived out.

Time in the Word outline overview:
For refresh, focus on being called out in church in high school [kids behave or ask you to leave]. What Paul does with Philemon and this worship gathering of folks in Colossae. Risky.
Goal is not to “be nice” but to be real. Bigger stakes: slave owner house meeting in, his son is the preacher dude, Paul in prison so whole thing could blow up. But, the Jesus deal had to be real, produce change and create a real community. Their lives had to be tuned to Jesus’ life — his character and compasison. But there are other stories of people … Wiersbe’s Stayed, Prayed, Strayed.
Problems: we can’t pretend they aren’t there, so address them, call them to stay on the journey to be Jesus’ family. But God’s power, and each of us, is at work here to share the Jesus journey. A place of “subversive goodness” — folks who change the world be becoming a people living like Jesus who have different stories but being tuned to each other and to Jesus. Outline Follows:

Colossians 1:1-5; 4:9-10 [Called Out in Church – me & Onesimus]

Church is not about being fakey nice, but …

@ being real as people (4:9-10)
@ being re-tuned to Jesus (1:29; 3:10)
@ being re-fashioned into a Jesus community of faith, hope, & love (1:1-5) 

Video Clips: The Point, Robin’s Testimony, It

SUNDOWN

Time in the Word: Called out in church! Philemon & Onesimus issue. Hard. Challenge. But Jesus-stuff isn’t easy. Why we are called together as community is to worship something, or in our case, Someone, who calls us out of our easy and set ways and challenges us to be more than we are, more than the status quo culture. Something is more important than hurt feelings or cultural values. Faith, Love, Hope — they are more than words. They are the gritty pieces of our lives that God uses to shape us and make us more like Jesus … no matter the cost. This will be a look at the letter of Philemon (also compare 1 Corinthians 7:17-24 and Colossians 3:18-4:1). Paul was against slavery in a culture that was dependent upon it. Philemon is a case study in our how Paul tried to influence his dear friend to take back a slave (Onesimus) who had robbed Philemon and run away from him. Now, Paul says, receive him as a brother and not a slave. Paul has this letter read in church to solicit the community’s support to bring about this; but the church probably met in Onesimus’ house and his son is probably the minister. So much is on the line. Paul takes a great risk in his friendship, in the stability of the church (what would other slaves do? what would happen if Philemon didn’t agree? would this split the church). But underneath is a bigger issue: How does the “Kingdom of the Son God Loves” (Col 1:13-14) live in a world where values are different? Will it’s culture be transformed by the Lordship of Jesus? This is where the concept of “subversive goodness” becomes crucial!

Digging Deeper (Focus Texts, Passages, Core Teaching Threads, Ideas)

Focus Texts: (1:1-8, 24; 4:7-18)

Paul tells the Colossians that he has thankfulness and reasons to rejoice because of them — faith, hope, love. The goodness and growth of these followers of Christ that Paul had never met are part of the key ideas that lie behind our focus. But so also is the slavery issue that is personally lived out with Philemon and Onesimus (Paul’s letter to Philemon NAS). Paul clearly uses every means possible to get Philemon to release Onesimus from slavery even though there is no legal or social reason to do so, but every reason in Christ to do so. Also, notice the different people Paul mentions and the walks of life they represent, one of whom, Demas (2 Timothy 4:10 NRS) will ultimately abandon Paul and the faith — thus making the concerns Colossians 1:23 NAS real and not just theoretical. This gathering of believers in Colossae is a good, true fellowship. But they have their flaws, weaknesses and blind spots. Yet rather than giving up on them, Paul is pointing them to Christ Jesus, and depending upon them to make a difference in their part of the world!

Church life, life in God’s family as we like to call it, is a mixture of charis (grace) and crisis. Evidence of grace and reasons for thanksgiving can be found in our imperfect community, but our weaknesses, blind spots, and hypocrisies also rear their ugly heads.

Read the Passages

Colossians 1:1-8 (NAS) & Colossians 1:24 (NAS) & Colossians 4:7-18 (NAS)

Core Teaching Threads

Threads

1. Every honest group of folks following Jesus admits it is a mix of flaws and Christ-likeness. Each of us is in the process of being formed, but none of us has fully arrived yet (Philippians 3:12-16 CEV): there is freedom to grow (2 Corinthians 3:17-18 RSV) yet also leave or turn away from Jesus or grow lax (for example, Demas).

2. But God gives us different people from all walks of life with all sorts of histories to help us (Hebrews 3:12-13 NAS and Hebrews 10:23-25 NAS).

3. Yet in the mix of strengths and flaws, God builds a community, a Kingdom community of people who have been delivered from the dark dominion and who are not only redeemed, but redeem the world through the leaven of their faith (Colossians 1:13-14 NAS). God builds His people into agents of change through what we will call “subversive goodness” — what we see Paul urging Philemon to do and be, by calling him out in front of his church buddies!

4. Learning each other’s stories and being a fellowship of different kinds of people helps us see that we belong and we need to be a place where people who are not exactly like us are welcomed to belong, as well. The key, is that all of our lives are tuned to Christ and show a move toward the things that last — faith, hope, love (Colossians 1:3-5 & cf. 1 Corinthians 13:11-13 NAS).

Core

God uses imperfect people — all sorts, shapes, histories, and sizes — to be His influence and leaven in their communities — agents of His subversive goodness. But this happens because they are not content to live in their flaws: instead, Jesus’ people are willing to live that Jesus focused lifestyle in their world.

iSpy

Video Clips: It & The Point

Video Testimony: Robin George

LIFE

(Please read the passages above and interact with them.)

So why is a “church” of flawed people worth my time?

How do I determine if what I see is real or simply hype … spin … hypocrisy … sin?

But maybe even more important to ask, could I stand being in a community that wasn’t a mixture of both strengths and flaws?

How could I possibly fit in a place that everybody appeared to have it together?

So how do we — I — keep from getting settled down and satisfied in our/my imperfections and keep on the journey to be more like Jesus?

And what is the difference in being a flawed community and a flawed community with a commitment to be molded to Christ?

So what’s the difference in me “liking” this community and “needing” it? … and what would draw me to it?

How can I be an influence for good, for Jesus, and not grow cynical, negative, and hyper-critical of a community of people whose flaws or life-experiences may be different than my own?

(Other LIFE group and discussion questions would be great to share in the comments section below.)

Randomness

Share some random musings about this whole matrix of ideas in the comments section below. One that comes to my mind is a gathering of believers in Bangkok, Thailand, where people from 12 different nations were present and worshiped together.