Bridging the Divide - 1

At the core of our vision and mission is our identity as a family. This is not a new concept for Christianity. Romans 8:17 shows us that the Gospel makes us coheirs with Christ. We have long sung hymns about being in the family of God. We have spoken often about being a child of God. I have three children. Those three identify themselves as my child, siblings of one another, and family together. If I am a child of God and you are a child of God, then we are family together…under God. His family.

At the local church level, we have an individual identity as a “church family”. This distinguishes us from the larger Church, the universal Church of Christians around the world, in that it locates us as a singular congregation where we actually know one another, serve one another, and worship together. I am convinced that it is the local body, the small family, that provides the cohesive nature and nurture that Hebrews 10:24-25 exhorts when it says to stop neglecting the gathering and to keep encouraging one another to serve God and love others. If you have been in the church for very long at all this will not be a new concept for you.

However, the application of being family is often missed. Actually, it is never truly bridged. That is what we seek to do different at FBC Fairburn. That is where we must recover the identity of what a family truly is. In his book Among Wolves, Dhati Lewis of Blueprint Church in Atlanta describes the church as family in this way: “A family is driven by responsibility, not activity. Family is a community that is responsible for one another and should be characterized by love and the fruit of the Spirit.”[i] As members of God’s family we have a love-oriented responsibility to God and to our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is a step beyond just coming to church together. It is a continual call to self-sacrifice for the spiritual betterment and growth of each other. It is a commitment to fulfill ministry needs within the family in order that the family can function (you know…nursery, food pantry, greeter, SS teacher, etc.).

But there is another caveat to this family identity that we must capture: we have to know each other. Ask yourself an honest question: How many people in my church do I actually know? Not how many names can you call. Not even how many faces you recognize. With how many people in your church (our church) can you say that you have more than a “Hey, how are you?” relationship? What people can you identify in the church that you know part of their story?

I get it. This is messy and seems to be a little invasive, right? After all, who hasn’t been (unfortunately) hurt in the church because too many people knew too many details they didn’t need to know? See, that is where we have to begin bridging the divide. If Fairburn, South Fulton, Atlanta, Georgia, United States, or the world is going to see the impact of the Gospel in our lives it comes as WE ALL bridge into one another’s lives. It will come as we walk in pain and in joy with one another, experiencing life together as a family under God’s dominion.

Perhaps this is a new approach for you in church. The local congregation was not supposed to be a pit stop for your week. It was designed to be a place where we could grow in our understanding of Who God is, what God has done, and how God uses us together so that we could go into the world with the message of salvation through Christ. It is hard living a life of faith. It is hard standing firm on Christ in a world that doesn’t. That is why we need each other. But, it is also why we must KNOW each other.

Let me encourage you today to pull out a sheet of paper and list the people in your church that you know well. Well is qualified as someone that you regularly see outside of church, speak with about things more than just “hey”, or people that you spend other time with. If you can list more than five people/families, you are doing great! Chances are, the number is less than five. Next, make a list of people in your church that you know their name and that’s about it. You may have a decent list or you may struggle with remembering names. The point of this exercise is to identify gaps that need to be bridged.

In identifying these people or families, you have now entered the world of becoming family. Your church needs you to make intentional connections with people on this list. Go for lunch after church. Meet for coffee during the week. Invite them over to your house for dinner. Sharing this time together begins the journey of walking through life together. You will not have a perfect relationship with all of the kinks worked out, I mean, how many of us have that perfection anywhere? Exactly! I am convinced that this is the first step we must take together in order to build a better unity in our church. I believe that we can demonstrate the power of the Gospel together here.

So, let me hear from you. What is your biggest hold back to bridging gaps? Where have you been hurt by burnt bridges? How can your church become the family it was designed to be?

---

[i] Dhati Lewis, Among Wolves: Disciple Making in the City (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2017), 51.