Evaluating 40 Days of Community

[*NOTE: Quotes from the 40 Days of Community Workbook are blockquoted.]

"We're Chosen to Fellowship Together...By Supporting Each Other."

God enables us to love the fear out of one another. We drive fear from our community by loving one another so supportively that each member feels safe inside the group (1 John 4:18). ... We give to one another the same uncommon safety Christ gives us--to be real, to be sad, to be messed up and confused, yet, to be loved.

The above sounds so wonderful, doesn't it? After all, doesn't everyone want to be in a community where there is no fear? I was in the presence of such a community last year at the gay pride festival in Vancouver, BC in Canada. It was clearly evident that these people had no fear or inhibitions. They let it all go. People who were perhaps reserved at work, always wary of what people think of them or how they are perceived were letting go of all their cares at the festival. I met an elderly woman sitting in a chair on the side of the street taking in the festivities. I was amazed by this, and so I stopped by to talk with her and to ask her why she was there. She said it was because these people have learned to let go of their fears; they were free. Indeed, they were free... They were free to do as they wanted. Were these people not loving the fear out of one another? Is it not true that these people felt safe in this community of people who outwardly displayed their inner lusts that day?

Now, I think there is a very relevant example of the early church community in Acts 5. Let's see if it matches up with the description that Rick Warren provided above. Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold a piece of property and, giving a portion of the proceeds to the apostles, told them that they gave the full proceeds from the sale. The Holy Spirit revealed this sin to Peter who questioned them: "While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God" (Acts 5:4, NASB). At this, Ananias fell down and died. In like manner, his wife Sapphira also lied and breathed her last. And what do we read? "...and great fear came over all who heard of it." In Acts 5:11 (NASB) we read: "And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things." Verse 13 continues: "But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people held them in high esteem." Maybe the disciples should have taken the 40 Days of Community so they could learn from Rick that "God enables us to love the fear out of one another."

Jesus, although He is completely forgiving to those who repent and prostrate themselves at his feet, He also has an "uncommon safety" as Rick puts it (although not in the way that Rick means): "But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!" (Luke 12:5, NASB). In John 10:19, we read that "A division occurred again among the Jews because of these words." In John 6:66, we read "As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore." In Matt 10:34, Jesus said "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." Jesus often rebuked the disciples for their little faith. Hardly encouraging words. And when the Samaritans did not receive Jesus because He was traveling towards Jerusalem, James and John asked Jesus "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" But He turned and rebuked them, [and said, "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them."] (Luke 9:54-56, NASB). Jesus also said discouraging things like, "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt 5:48, NASB). When Jesus spoke against the pharisees, the disciples once came to Him and said, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard that statement?" to which Jesus responded "Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit." (Matt 15:12-14, NASB). Yes, Jesus had a very uncommon safety. Yet He was overwhelmingly compassionate on those who came to Him in repentance.

Going back to the quote from the beginning of Day 18, notice how "we" and "self"-focussed the quoted statements are. If "we love the fear out of one another," then we don't need God, do we? It is God's love that drives out fear, yet fear is the beginning of wisdom. Why? Well, because fear drives us to God, then God drives it out. Rick quotes 1 John 4:18, which is an excellent verse. But notice that the previous 3 verses explain why there is no fear in love and how we can access this comfort. Is it from others in my community? You be the judge:

"Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world." (1 John 4:15-17, NASB).

If you think I'm being overly critical, please slowly read over the first paragraphs of Day 18 again.

God challenges us to create a community ... where we can each "live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28, NIV).

Where does God challenge us to create a community? There are many communities where people can live and move and have their being, where they are accepted and feel like they have things in common. Rather, Acts 17:28 states: "for in Him we live and move and exist..." Note that it does not say "for in community."

We exhibit tender hearts when we say to one another: ... It's OK to admit your mistakes; It's OK to say your marriage is failing; It's OK to confess your addition ...

I think Rick is rightly contending with a general problem that has been in the church for a while now which is a lack of acceptance of people who are honest with where they are at. Let me clarify that it is very important that we don't judge others as being more sinful than us lest we become like the "holier than thou" types who confess to God "thank you God that I'm not like that sinner." This is an ungodly and haughty attitude that we need to do away with... and fast. If you show love differently to someone who is a thief than to someone who is a homosexual, you are not judging rightly. All sin will be judged by God, and James said "for whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at one point, he has become guilty of all" (James 2:10, NASB). All sin is despicable to God, and you hidden lust is as the act of adultery in the eyes of God. Those who judge others who they perceive to have worse sins don't see themself rightly before God as they should.

However, while it is OK to admit our mistakes and failings, we need to call one another to repentance. And those who do not repent and continue in sin are not even to be associated with after going through the proper Biblical process. In our acceptance of people, we have to remember the importance of repentance and not ignore it in order to be liked. After all, it was Jesus who said, "Do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:4-5, NASB).

Humble people aren't focused on how little they think they're worth, and they don't concern themselves with acting humble. Behavior like that is actually self-centered and reflective of false humility.

Rick makes an excellent point here. Often we are blind to our own self-centeredness, hiding behind a veneer of what we think is humility when it is really just the opposite. We should help people so that they don't remain in this state of self-delusion.

True humility also means we understand our own value in Christ, and our own unique purpose.

Rather, true humility comes from understanding that we are condemned sinners just like the rest of the world is. Were it not for the grace of God, we would all perish. And the sooner we let the law do its work in our lives to bring down the mountain of our pride by informing us that we have failed at all points in God's law, the sooner we will learn true humility. We are all in the muck; some may float a little higher in it than others, but nonetheless, we are all completely separated from God. I used to think I was 80% of the way to God and that I simply needed Jesus to fill the gap (because no one can be 100% perfect). Well, I was wrong; I was actually 0% of the way and thought more highly of myself -- I had failed at every point either in thought, deed or lack of deed... again, and again, and again, and again. Once I realized this, I finally humbled myself before Christ and gave up my life (Luke 7:47). I finally began to love God much and my life was transformed because God finally, for the first time, had all of me. I may have called myself a Christian before, but I was not. Jesus said that it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle for a very good reason. Anyone who trusts in self-righteousness even one iota, doesn't see themselves rightly before the one and only creator-redeemer, a just and holy God who must punish all sin with eternal separation from His glory. That place of punishment is hell, and hell will one day be thrown into the lake of fire. It is a place of conscious, eternal torment as Jesus described it, and we would do well to heed His words of warning about it.

We exhibit humble minds when we say to one another: It's OK to be happy you got a new car; It's OK to celebrate that you got a HUGE raise; It's OK to say you won the sales competition...

While we certainly can celebrate with the material successes of others, this is not what the Bible is calling us to. If the bible says that it's harder for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, should we not show concern for those souls that are engrossed in the materialism of this life? We can celebrate briefly, but our celebration should be girded on every side by deep concern for them that they do not become seduced by the boasting of the flesh, by wealth, success and power. It is so easy, and it leads people away from God. That is certainly not something to celebrate about! Yet we need to remember that if we are living indulgent lives ourselves that our example is not demonstrating a separation from the world that it should be. This doesn't mean that we cannot have things, but that we must hold them loosely and not be consumed with thinking and talking about them. Things are really tools, a means to an end. We should be using our wealth to buy friends, not to indulge ourselves more and more. But to those who think that God has gifted them with lots of money because He needs the rich to fund His church, they should remain gravely concerned for themselves that they do not fall into temptation. Is it better to build your house on the edge of a cliff or in the middle of a field? Be thankful for wherever God has placed you, but be always willing to give it up. Keep your bags packed!

Jesus called Peter a "rock" when the fisherman was still acting on impulse (Matt 16:18)...

This is a common misconception, especially in the teaching of the Roman Catholic church. Jesus called Peter's confession (which was revealed to Him by God) the Rock upon which He would build His church. The foundation of the church is that Jesus is our deliverer and the Son of the living God! I love how God knew that people would take this verse out of context. For only a few verses later when Peter rebukes Jesus, Jesus says to Peter: "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but on man's" (Matt 16:23, NASB). So Rick is wrong in asserting that Jesus was trying to puff Peter up by calling him something that he was not. In the case of Gideon in Judges 6:11-12, God was prophesying what He would do through him. But this is not like calling Peter the foundation of the church (which he was not).