Issue 78 - From the Editor

Dear Readers,

The Church is not a building and not a program.

Many of us would agree with this statement, but our actions might prove otherwise. Do we see our relationships in a church group dissipate if we move to another one? What holds us together more in our church groups, the relationships under Christ or the programming? And is our focus on growing our relationship with God and others or in our ability to share a message? Some might say the measure of our purposefulness is the ability to share the gospel to as many people as possible, especially if we’re able to “multiply” quickly and organically. But what if we’re missing an important point to this? What if the medium is the message? What if how we deliver a message is tied to the message itself? What if the Church is the “envelope” to the message of the gospel?

Jesus once said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35, NIV). We will be known not necessarily as people who go everywhere with a message but as people who love one another. Yes, we are sent with a gospel message, but we are also the message.

Paul writes, “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (2 Corinthians 3:2-3).

This is important for us to understand because we often are tempted to think that the message is more important than the medium, that as long as we can share the message of the gospel, the rest doesn’t matter. As long as a soul is saved, who cares what else happens?

If we think this way, we will begin to lose sight of what the Church actually is. If the Church is only about getting that message out there in word form or membership in a club by virtue of the banner of the church group’s name, we will fail to prove ourselves as Jesus’s disciples. If the message is all we are, efficiency and getting things done comes first. All that matters is to share the gospel and to see people come to Christ without a care about others. And if people don’t listen, we shake the dust from our feet and move on. But then, what about love? Love is patient and kind. How do we reconcile these ideas of sharing the gospel to the ends of the earth and also loving one another well, which by definition includes patience? Sadly, we often fall into an American way of thinking, of focusing on leadership and efficiency and getting things done over shepherding and servanthood.

In this edition, we will be going into the theme of friendship. Why? Because friendship is an important aspect to what it means to live as the Church, one that we often neglect to the detriment of what we are called to as disciples of Christ. Jesus Himself called His followers His friends (see John 15). Together, we form the Church as living stones (see 1 Peter 2:4-5). Imagine a stone building where one stone is crumbling and not holding its part well. One weakness can lead to the crumbling of an entire section. Each stone impacts the others. If we are not following Christ well, part of the Church itself is not following Christ well, and this could cause fallout for all the other parts.

True friendship is not only having fun times together, but a relationship where we can support one another towards Christ. Andy Crouch writes in The Tech-Wise Family how families are needed to help us grow in courage and wisdom in an age of growing technology.[1] I would add that friendships can also help us grow in courage and character. In this edition, Scott asks important questions about what it means to be friends and in the church, Susan writes about the importance of friendship in a time of social media and isolation, and George shares about how to be a good friend to someone experiencing grief.

In addition, we have a small toolbox resource with things we’ve found helpful for building a depth of friendship. We hope and pray God uses these words to strengthen and encourage us to see the Church as the people under Christ and to focus our efforts not merely on creating new programming but on how to love God and one another well, starting with His love for us and overflowing into a love for one another and the world. May our focus not be on improving programs but on loving well, on seeing the Church as the people and not merely the gatherings we have each week.

In Christ,

Jonathan Ho

P.S. If you find any of this interesting or if you have anything to add, please reach out to us at hello@projectarctos.com or connect with us on Instagram & Facebook @projectarctosministry

We’d love to hear from you!

Note 

[1] Imagine a world where technology makes everything easier. With fewer barriers to what we want, it becomes easier to live without risk and without difficulty. There be come fewer and fewer opportunities to grow in patience and bearing with one another.

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Issue 78