Main Focus

When a group of people gather one of the most difficult things to do is to keep everyone focused upon the main thing. So one of the core questions of a new gathered community needs to center around its focus.

Question: What is the focus or purpose of gathering together?

When a people of faith gather together what is necessary is Jesus Christ, not Jesus just as a good man or good teacher, but Jesus as the crucified Son of God. Paul in 1Co 2:2 says: "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." It is this Jesus that has to be the common denominator and focus of those who are gathered.

Jesus has to be at the center of all things. The gathered community has to begin by asking not what would Jesus do, but rather what would Jesus have us do given what we know, where we are, and who we are? This is not an easy question but has to be the focus. The gathered body can learn a lot from the early church, the examples of believers in the past, and how others are living out their faith today. It has to be remembered that we are not Jesus. Jesus was/is unique in all ways, both God and man, given to all people as a gift to connect people to God their creator without the reality of sin keeping them apart. Because Jesus remains present within the gathered body of believers they become more than they would be as individuals. The faith, gifts, talents, life experiences, and present possibilities combine in a gathered community to become more than could ever be possible alone. Jesus becomes real, alive, active, and inviting for others to also experience the divine presence of God/Jesus/Holy Spirit in the present moment. Jesus says in several places that the Kingdom of God is near as well as the Kingdom of God is within you. It is this relationship with the will and ways of God that the gathered body should be seeking after and expecting here on earth and not just in a time after death.

The only way that I know to be apart of this kind of relationship is to be focused upon Jesus through Bible study, regular conversation, and a focused examination of both individual and group life. So the gathering has to take Jesus more seriously than it takes itself. The danger that immediately arises is that the Jesus I have in mind needs to become the Jesus that you have to believe in or you don't / can't belong. That is going to be the tight rope that is necessary to live out with fear and trembling. Because each of us will only understand Jesus through our own eyes it will take a great deal of grace and patience with one another to fully experience and then express Jesus in our daily lives.

In order to keep the focus upon Jesus in this new gathering there will need to be a willingness to say no to many good things so that the body can say yes to the most important things. It will be important to invite people to take their Jesus faith into work, family, and social settings without individual callings side-tracking the groups calling. This means saying no to political statements and issues that might be an individuals focus but not be the gathered bodies calling. It will mean saying no to programs or ministry that might be fun and engaging but do nothing to move people together or individually closer to Jesus. It will mean saying yes to loving others with Jesus love even when people disagree. It will mean saying yes to going the extra mile with grace and open arms with those who are suffering in one way or another. It will mean the willingness to use every spiritual and physical gift available to the gathered body in living out the Kingdom of God life for God's glory and the good of those God brings into that life.