Can an orange tree that never produces fruit call itself an orange tree? I mean, with a straight face. Neither can a church call itself a church if it is not about the business of producing disciples of Jesus Christ. The church exists to pursue God and to live righteous lives in community with other believers. If we are doing that, then two things happen. We will produce disciples of Jesus Christ. Healthy orange trees produce healthy oranges, and healthy churches produce healthy disciples of Jesus Christ.
That is what Jesus told us to do. He said to his disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” If he has all authority in all places, then what he says next is all-important. Here it is: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” What are we as disciples of Christ called to do? Make disciples of all people, every nation, every tribe every tongue. We cannot fulfill that calling by ourselves. But the church in every place is working together to accomplish this task, by God’s grace. We are called and gifted by God to make disciples. And that process involves, in part, “teaching them to observe all that (Jesus) has commanded.” And the promise to us is this: Jesus said, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” We do not do it all, and what we do, we do not do alone. Jesus does it in and through us.
We in the local church are joined and held together and grow as disciples and as a church when every joint is working properly. Joined and held together. Look around at the people gathered around you for worship on Sunday morning. And consider these questions: is there enough evidence to convict us of being joined and held together? How close are we? Could we be accused of being “devoted to fellowship?” Is it evident in our faces when we are together? Can we see it in our hugs and handshakes, can we hear excitement in our voices when we meet? And, are we growing as disciples of Jesus?
I think one of the reasons God struck down Ananias and Sapphira in the early days of the church was that they were more interested in doing something for themselves than for the ones with whom they were joined and held together. Ananias and Sapphira, in my opinion, were the first pew warmers in the church. They were the first couple in the new church who came in with the mindset, “What’s in this for me? How can I get what I need out of this deal without having to invest a lot myself? How can I make sure my needs are met?” I don’t believe they saw themselves as “joined and held together” with the rest of the body.
I will be honest with you. The older I get, the less patient I am with those who just want to “play church.” The less I understand how anyone who says he is a believer is content to show up once a month or so when the body of Christ gathers. Or just show up online. Or not at all. I am simply less interested in chasing down people who don’t see themselves as “joined and held together” with the rest of the body and cannot seem to find time the church body into their schedule. The older I get, the more I treasure the friendship and fellowship of those with whom I am standing next to, stuck like glue, compacted together for the long haul. That doesn’t mean God cannot and will not move people around to different battlefields. He does! But it does mean that when God places you on the battlefield somewhere, the other people around you on that battlefield depend upon you with their very lives. Don’t take that lightly. Don’t misuse or abuse or neglect that relationship.
It is vital, not only to the health of the local body you are connected to, but to your own spiritual health as well.
J. Mark Fox 