The essence of the article is the "gathering together". As the body of God, local church is all kind of things when its not gathering. We ourselves have picked the slogan "Gathering, Growing and Going Out" to describe us. (Not unique).

But, when we gather, it is different isn't it? So, from the article:

Loving one another – yes, sort out your relationship with your bro and sis. Also, make some fellowship time possible, and encourage the growth of intimacy.

Praying for one another – Practice corporate meditative AND intercessory prayer. Excellent. Also, teach each other why and how to do this.

Caring for one another – Encourage intimacy and foster trusting relationships in the church. Also, have a good pastoral program which involves everyone as agents of care.

Trusting each other – I think we covered that.

Challenging one another – That applies to everyone too. The messages we hear are often challenging; God's word often delivers a promise and a challenge in the same passage. Also, I'm coming round to the view that I personally would benefit from e.g. an "accountability partnership" with one or two others.

Thanks again folks.
Peter (GoGod).

Must help each other descend into stillness- to get really really settled, enough to sit and listen to the voice of god; get still enough to get past the turmoil and the chaos in your own mind, in your own personality, past your own voice to listen to the deepest voice- and be really present. Only from this place can you love, care, truly listen to others, from the deepest most connected part of you.

You can do this by breathing, by closing your eyes, by kneeling with your hands folded like the catholics (that's a way to close off the senses, to eliminate distraction).

How to get people to leave the ego at the door, and arrive? Teach them to listen before they pray. Teach them Lectio Divina- read the scripture and then let it sink in, let it speak deeply to the heart. To get quiet and connected and open, remember who they are, they are god's children, they are part of god- then from there they can pray, or from there you can do service, study the scriptures, apply lessons to daily living. But first: connect.

Jesus did it. Sit alone and listen and talk with god. For 40 days, 40 minutes, heck- 4 minutes! Or check out the christian mystics. or the jesuits. all kinds of approaches to model on.

The most popular church in Los Angeles starts with 30 minutes of silent meditation, then a short prayer, and then the service begins- 1000 people alone with god at the same time. Believe me, everyone is fully "in the room" for the rest of the service- which is full of music, participatory sermons, great teaching.

Thanks, Nathan-

CMM

My initial question was intended to explore what life would be like when Christians are living life together. I think my "vision for the church" section gives a brief sketch of how Christians might be living interconnectedly and interdependently. I did assume that many Christians are not living life together which is why this post is needed. Ultimately, I'm trying to break down the stereotype that what we do when we gather together is sit passively while someone leads songs and sermons. That can be an important part of the life of a Christian but rather than think that's all there is, we have to realize there's so much more.

A couple of responses. First, don't beat yourself up if you don't see Acts in your church. For one thing, the circumstances were probably different. They were traveling from all over to be in Jerusalem, had only planned to stay for the week when Jesus entered their hearts. Didn't want to go home, wanted to learn more about Jesus. People began opening their homes and they were eating meals together daily.

Somehow, I think we should be looking in the middle of the spectrum between Acts 2 and one hour a week on Sundays. We don't have to be like Acts 2, but we do need to experience authentic fellowship together.

I think the way we reach the Sunday-only crowd is by challenging and encouraging people to live like disciples. When I encourage people to get involved with a small group of Christians and experiment with fellowship I tell them I'm confident it's what Jesus would be doing if he were here in the flesh. Jesus invested in twelve men and they learned how to live life together. People need to catch that vision.

Finally, when the small group that you have begins seeing transformation, fellowship, trust, and love within the group they will begin sharing the vision for Christian community for you. A lot of people don't make the time because they don't see how it's important. But through personal experience and personal invitations those 6 or 8 people can become 12 to 15 people pretty quickly.

God bless you in your ministry.

Most of our congregation only meet others on Sundays. Why? Busy, busy lives. There's also a tendency in our societies for people to withdraw from communal commitments. We hate to "join" any group or show signs of commitment.

So… how do we reach the Sunday only people? One response we have is to preach the removal of the sacred/secular divide in order to facilitate the abundant Christian life. It seems vital that we encourage true fellowship – with Jesus at the centre of course.

For the midweek, we have mooted house-groups or cells as group dynamics for 5-9 people work well, but there is not the will to do this. What we have is a core of only 6-8 people who recognise the need to meet together and I have gone out of my way to ask individuals what will make them come. That has meant an early start and finish, linking meetings with a programme of material, offering lifts, etc. We also spend time praying for the individuals that we miss seeing. I hope that this prayer causes the Holy Spirit to act on their lives and on those who pray so we are responsive and loving.

Thanks again.