“As if That Made Them Healthy”
EPISODE 238
Learn to Walk With Other Christians
What’s a “Macho Nacho Cheesio”? And what should you do with the leftover pieces of an Ikea desk? We’re back for session 11 of our Square One series, to answer those questions, and — most importantly — to ask another: "Why do I need the church?" Join us as we reflect on our own baptism experiences and dive into why the church isn't an optional add-on, but an essential component in your journey with Jesus. We'll explore the early church's radical community in Acts 2 and discuss powerful metaphors like the church as a family, a flock, and a body. What are your impressions of the church, and how do you see being part of a local church helping your walk with Christ?
Takeaways
The Big Idea: Our Lord never intended us to make this journey alone.
This Week's Challenge: Make a list of questions about local church membership and ask them next time.
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Introduction and Welcome
Ryan: And he loved the idea that they were gluten free as if that made them healthy.
Bryan: Well, hello everyone and welcome to the Bible Geeks podcast. This is episode 238. I'm Bryan Schiele
Ryan: I'm Ryan Joy
Bryan: and thanks so much everyone for tuning in. We are rounding out our square one series here. We're almost done. we've gone through this longer version of this 13 session guided study.
We are on session 11 here in today's conversation, before we get to this really important question we're gonna tackle today, let's do a little bit of follow-up. And
Reflecting on Personal Faith Journeys
Bryan: on the last episode we had this challenge, if you're ready, "Declare your faith in Jesus, commit to following him, and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins."
did you think though about this challenge, especially as you might be giving it to someone else?
Ryan: I mean, it is the throwdown, big question that we've been building, the moment we've all been waiting for. But, you know, I think that makes me reflect back to the moment that I was asked this question.I was asked, Do you want to be a Christian?" while I was playing catch with the preacher in the congregation there who had invested in a relationship with me, which I think illustrates today's lesson on the importance of the church and the relationships in the body.
but I guess as I think about this applied to me, I would want to highlight that confessing Jesus isn't something we do just once,
It is, yes.
So, you know, yes, I'm ready to declare it. I declare it again right now. I believe Jesus is Christ and King, Son of God and my Lord. And, you know, there's this song that my mom used to love.
it says, "And oh, may this my glory be, that Christ is not ashamed of me." Like, what a strange thing, the idea that I would be ashamed of Christ and may I never be ashamed of him. And may he not be ashamed of me, as he talks about in Matthew 10, to acknowledge me before his Father on that day.
And, you know, he puts those two together, the confession of him and the confession that he does of us before the Lord. So that was a little journey I took you on there because we can't exactly follow this follow up. What about you? What did you think about
Bryan: I was thinking about, similar to you, when I became a Christian. It was a moment that I knew was coming and I was challenged by when the direct question was asked to me and I said, "Yes, I'm ready to go." And now upon reflection, my dad was not in town at the time and, you know, he was just on business travel or something like that, but I decided to become a Christian and be baptized coincidentally while he was gone.
And at the time I didn't really think that much about it and then now I kind of look back on it, I'm like, "I wonder how my dad felt about that, like, that I waited for that moment." You know, on one hand, if I were in his position, I would have been like super excited that I made the decision, but, maybe a little bit sad that I wasn't a part of it or didn't get to see it firsthand. But it's just one of those moments where it's so important to do the right thing that it almost doesn't matter what else is going on. It's like, "Stop the presses, you know, this is all what this is about," but you know, reminiscing on that moment.
And I like your point that really confession is an ongoing thing, but that moment of baptism is a special moment, I think, for all of us who have committed our lives to the Lord, and just to think about the details of that, always a good thing to do.
Ryan: Yeah, I bet he was, his joy overwhelmed his any disappointment about it. I sure hope so,
The Importance of the Church
Bryan: All right, so we're gonna get into here, as Ryan alluded to, session 11, where we ask this really important question, "Why do I need the Church?" And I was thinking about this question, you know, sometimes I view this question and our relationships with the Church about, like, building an Ikea desk or something.
You know, you followed all the instructions, everything seems to look good, but there's, like, a bunch of pieces still left in the box, and you don't know what to do with them. You're like, "What are these things over here?" And I feel like sometimes that's how people treat the Church, or we could treat the Church.
It's like, "Why is this here? Why is this organization set up? am I missing something by not incorporating it into the final product? And, you know, is the whole thing gonna fall apart if I just leave that piece of the final design over there in the box still?" And, spoiler alert, you did something wrong if you haven't factored the Church into the design of your life, and this is really an important question that I think we all need to tackle, and hopefully this will be a productive discussion with somebody who is new to the faith.
Ryan: that's a great analogy because it is, you're saying, "I probably don't need this little piece here, this bolt." And then two days later, you set something on the shelf and the whole structure comes down. And that's what can happen in the church. You know, how many times have you watched someone come to Christ and then soon you never see them again?
And how are they? Did they continue in the faith? Well, you know, I don't know, but it's sure not going to be something that they can sustain and follow the Lord faithfully if they're not part of some church somewhere. And to change metaphors, this is not a solo sport. This isn't like golf or tennis. is a team sport.
This is something we're meant to do together. imagine one person playing football against a team of 11. That would not go well. And we need each other. We all have different roles and different parts to play and we support one another in this.
Bryan: I wouldn't want to be on the field alone, for sure. May not even want to be on the football field at all.
Road Trip Icebreaker
Bryan: So let's get into our kickoff here, where we go into a little bit of a hook here and an icebreaker question that we'll circle back on at the end of all that.
Square One - 11: This is square one. Why do I need the church? Imagine packing up the car for the ultimate cross-country road trip. You've got the perfect playlist, a full tank of gas, and a map pointing toward incredible destinations. But who's riding shotgun to be your navigator? Who's gonna be sacked out in the back of the car, waking up with the occasional "are we there yet?"
Our life's journey is a lot like a road trip, full of exciting sights, unexpected detours, and the occasional flat tire. But who are our traveling companions along the way? As much as we all need our "alone time," we're wired for companionship. And the best parts of any adventure are the people we share them with.
That's why it's no surprise that for the most important journey of all, our Lord never intended for us to go it alone. So before we dive in, let's talk travel essentials. If you were on a long road trip, what's the one snack you absolutely must have in the car?
Bryan: Okay, so Ryan, you and I have taken trips together, and I know lots of people love road tripping.
If you are on a long road trip, what's the one snack you absolutely must have in the car?
Ryan: I am one of those people that loves road tripping. Road tripping is great. And late in my dad's life, he discovered Doritos. Like, I don't remember him ever eating Doritos, but like the last, I don't know, five or 10 years, he called them macho nacho Cheesios
Bryan: Oh no.
Ryan: all over the place. And he loved the idea that they were gluten free as if that made them healthy.
But, but, yeah, we would, we would, we went on several road trips, the two of us. And then, you know, as a family as well. And he always had macho nacho Cheesios with him. And I kind of think they're still the perfect road trip snack, especially like you add some cashews next to them, little, little bag of cashews, maybe a Coke Zero for the road.
Make sure you've got your nacho cheese Doritos. And I think you're set. What about you?
Bryan: Macho Nacho Cheesios is definitely a solid addition to the road trip arsenal. answer for this has changed a lot over the years, actually. If I was taking a guilty pleasure snack early on in my life, I probably would have chucked a bunch of bags of those chocolate-covered doughnuts. I love those things so much, although it's kind of hard if you're traveling anywhere that's warm to leave them in the car because they wind up becoming one giant monster donut.
Ryan: Counts as one if they're connected.
Bryan: And so I think for me now, something more practical, will just load a cooler full of sandwich supplies. I know that's not really a snack, but like at any moment we can just pop out of the car and make something really quick on the side of the road. I love having all the sandwich supplies ready to go.
That's definitely a requirement for traveling anymore.
Ryan: I love that idea. You know, a sandwich tastes better than just about anything whenever you're picnicking. Like
Bryan: Oh, for
Ryan: you're, whether you're hiking or you're road tripping, just a simple like ham and cheese sandwich or something can be perfect.
yeah. All right, so let's get into our second part here where we get into the meat between these two breads of oddness here.
Jesus and the Community of the Church
Bryan: Let's get into a discussion of what Jesus says on this topic of the community of the church and the big idea, and then we'll follow up with the reach-out question.
Square One - 11: Let's get into it and learn to walk with other Christians.
When the New Testament talks about the church, it never means a building or a physical location. The Greek word "ekklesia" literally means an assembly or gathering of people. While the word itself isn't inherently religious, in the New Testament it almost exclusively refers to Christ's collective people.
The church are Jesus' followers. So how do we walk together without stepping all over each other? From the beginning, God's design was for us to live out our faith together in unity. Jesus confirmed this in his public prayer to God before his death, pleading for oneness among his followers that perfectly mirrors his own relationship with the Father.
He prayed that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us. This wasn't just a nice idea. He explained how this radical agreement and collaboration can lead the world to believe he's God's son. But how does that work when we're all so different? How are we supposed to get along with people who aren't like us?
Praise God that our worldly distinctions and divisions become irrelevant here where there are neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, as he brings a diverse people together as one in Jesus. So here's the big idea. Our Lord never intended us to make this journey alone. For the church to become what God designed it to be, it desperately needs every single one of its members to be active and engaged.
It's why we're told to stir up one another to love and good works and to encourage each other. We are actively invested in each other's spiritual growth, speaking the truth in love, caring for the needy among us, and holding each other to a higher standard. We take our mission to the world seriously as the pillar and support of the truth, holding up God's message for everyone to see.
Every member has influence with friends, neighbors, and co-workers that no one else can reach, and so we're all called to use our gifts to make disciples. Without members, the church is just an idea. Without active, engaged people, it can't grow, care for its own, uphold the truth, or reach the world. This interdependent, all-hands-on-deck community is God's brilliant and intended design.
So what are your impressions, either positive or negative, of the church?
Bryan: Okay, so what are your impressions, Ryan, of the church? Either positive or negative. Just lay it all out here. We're ready for
Ryan: It is kind of a heavy question. I think it's good that we're getting into this with folks early because everybody has good, bad, all kinds of associations. The church is made up of people that are flawed, but also really the best people on earth. That's my position on it. That's my experience of people in the church
Bryan: don't think that's a hot take.
Ryan: you know, it's it is messy. you know, we all come into this family with, with our broken habits and we can all get pulled into bad attitudes by Satan. and if you come to the church expecting the ideal of perfection, you will be frustrated and disappointed.
And I think we all can start to think that that's what it should be. You know, hey, these are Christians. This is the church. This is what this should be. But, you know, that's not what we read about in the New Testament. I mean, imagine being part of the Corinthian church when Paul's writing to them or, you know, any of these churches.
We're always working through something, relationship issues and doctrinal issues and leadership issues and all the issues. yet that is not the whole story. And if we focus in too much on that, then we miss the bigger thing that's happening, which is the way we work through it. this is not, we're not in the new heavens and new earth.
We're not in the end of everything. We're in this place where there's a struggle. But we do these issues. We do our lives and our partnership together differently as we follow Christ's way and tend to the unity of the Spirit. And so seeing people do that work of forgiveness, being patient with new people, or even with people who've been at this for 50 years and you say, well, they should know better.
Well, we're all trying to be patient with each other. We're all trying to invest in each other's lives. And it can be really a beautiful thing. And I would not want to spend my life in any other, context. when Christ-like leaders set their egos aside and just pour themselves into knowing and loving their flocks.
I mean, what a thing to live life with people whose job it is to look out for you and make sure you are doing okay and loving you and, you know, the bonds with people that you admire and the work we accomplished together that we couldn't do alone. It's really something. So my impressions generally are very positive of the church.
But I would have to say that if we're not seeing that it's going to be rough sometimes, then we're going to have a distorted view also.
Bryan: I'm in the same camp. I could say pretty much the exact same thing. It's so beautifully designed, right? You just see the way that God has set this all up. And it's powerful to remember that in Christ's church we are all part of this great plan. where worldly distinctions are just blown out of the water, erased, and we're all one in Jesus.
And the design of it, the ideal of it, is just perfect. But we all know the reality can be a lot more, like you said, messy.
because we're made up of people, the church is people. And so sometimes there's a coldness or division or hypocrisy or pride or whatever it is, because the real struggle is we're all broken. And we're all full of imperfections.
We stand in the way of this beautiful mission that God has for us.
And kind of like you were talking about, giving people a lot of grace and understanding that we're all in this together and we're all broken and messy.
Ryan: Messy.
Bryan: Yeah.
Ryan: Yeah. Broken and messy. That came up a lot. And, you know, but the other part of it is the process. Broken, but being healed, being changed, being transformed. And we're about doing that work with each other and for each other and in ourselves. And everybody is becoming something. And the people in the church are becoming like Jesus and that becoming, to watch that and to then have saints who've been at this work for a long time among us. And they're showing this gentleness and they're letting you say your answers as if they haven't been thinking about things for 50 years.
And, you know, they're just patient and gracious. It's a wonderful thing.
Acts 2: The Early Church
Bryan: Alright, so let's move on to our third section here, which is where we get into the book a little deeper and we're going to read Acts 2 verses 41 to 47, where we introduce this great, wonderful, beautifully designed, hot, messy group of people in the church there as they started in Acts chapter 2.
We'll read that together after we come back.
Square One - 11: Last time we read from Peter's powerful sermon to his audience at Pentecost, answering the question, "What shall we do?" with "Repent and be baptized." But did you notice that we missed the end of the story? What happened to that big gathering of new Christians?
Read Acts 2 verses 41-47 together to watch the earliest community of Jesus followers join together as the church. After reading, take some time to discuss it. What do you notice about the connection between the believer's radical internal community and their external impact?
Ryan: Okay. So I'll start reading here in Acts 2, verse 41 and read this first paragraph. “ So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. "And all who believed were together and had all things in common.”
Bryan: " And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved."
Ryan: Okay. So we asked this question at the end of that. What do you notice about the connection between the believers radical internal community and their external impact?
Bryan: this whole thing, you know, as you see the early church beginning, it just reads to me like a recipe for church growth. Like, internally, you see the community was completely intertwined with each other. They were devoted to the Apostles' teaching and to prayer and that belief, as they were coming to know more and understand more, it spilled out into their radical and tangible actions.
Like, what they did was changed by what they learned and what they knew. And they were sharing their meals together, so they were developing this connection with each other in each other's homes. you know, this wasn't like a once a Sunday, maybe on Wednesdays kind of thing. This was like every single day.
They were glad, they were sincere, and they had just such a profound unity in the way that they're described as having one heart and one soul. And so, when you think about all of that connection and the way this recipe is coming together, it costs them a lot. You know, they're selling their property, they're giving to the needs of each other, and what's so powerful is seeing how it just spilled out into the world around them.
the result is that they ended up having favor with all the people. Even like, unbelievers, I think, who weren't convinced by the gospel yet still looked at them and admired their standards. They admired their character, their morals, and their love for each other. And so, this community life wasn't just for them internally, it was, I think, their greatest evangelism tool.
you know, I think their life together has a very powerful, magnetic attraction to the world, especially at that time, and I think even today still.
Ryan: I mean, and when you see people who have awe, who have glad and generous hearts, I mean, of course, this is a people who have found what life is about and they are living in a family of people that are creating something, something special. I did a sermon years ago, kind of built loosely around a field of dreams.
I mean, it wasn't, it was built on the scriptures, but I used as my motif for my metaphor, that movie Field of Dreams and talked about it. Because my idea was if you build it, they will come,
Bryan: I was gonna hope that's where you were going with that.
Ryan: seeing something like if we are living this out in a way that the center of our lives, the most important thing and most exciting thing that's happening in our lives is God's work that he's doing in us and in the church and with each other, then people will show up for that.
And I think chapter two, verse 42 is this careful outline of the activities the church did when they gathered. It talks about the prayers, not just prayers. It's the prayers, the breaking of bread, which I think here in that first part is the Lord's Supper.
And, the apostles teaching and the fellowship, which I think is not just their, well, it's what they keep saying. They have all things in common. They're sharing their lives, but they're sharing what they have with one another. They're giving. And yet their connection wasn't just when they met as a church.
Like you said, this is daily life. This is breaking bread day by day. Chapter five, verse 42 adds house to house. And that's where a lot of good teaching and dialogue and praying and encouraging and sharing happens. I mean, you know,this is where we have more so become who we want to be, more so been shaped to take nothing from those assemblies when we come together.
Those are powerful and need to be maximized. And they're important, really important. But stuff where we are starting to figure out how to apply those teachings and work through it all, that happens as we're sitting there having a meal together or, drinking coffee and sitting there on the couch thinking through what's going on in real life.
this is what the church is. This is what it's what it's meant to be, is all of us alive together in the teaching and in the life of the saints. As all of these prophecies for hundreds of years have pointed to, this is what it was all
The Role of the Local Church
Bryan: I do appreciate the emphasis that this goes beyond just the, like, weekly worship, and I feel like a church is always going to be much healthier when it's involved in each other's lives. And it speaks to the community discussion, right? It speaks to it being like a family, like a body. Oh, and by the way, let's get into part four here, which really elaborates on those ideas, where we go a little bit deeper and look at some of our favorite pictures about the church.
Then we'll come back and talk about.
this big question.
Square One - 11: Ready to go deeper? When you hear the word "church," what comes to mind?
For many, it's a building with a steeple, a Sunday morning service, or a social club. But the New Testament paints a picture that's far richer and more alive. It uses powerful metaphors to help describe what the church truly is. Not a place we go to, but a reality we're part of. So what if the church is more like a family?
Think about it, a bond so strong that it's meant to last forever. We become members of this family not by birth, but by being adopted as children of God through Jesus. That's why the Bible calls Christians "brethren" and why Jesus himself says that whoever does God's will is "my brother and my sister and my mother."
This spiritual family, with God as our Father, is called to care for one another, bear each other's burdens, and deepen relationships that will outlast all others. This family is also described as a flock, with elders serving as shepherds who lead, feed, and protect the members from harm. It's a picture of deep care and belonging.
Another powerful image is the church as the body of Christ. In this picture, Christ is the head, the sole authority, and we are all the different parts. Just like a physical body, every single member is vital. Whether you're a hand, a foot, or an eye, you have a unique and necessary role to play in building up the whole body in love.
Seeing the church this way shows the foolishness of division. Just imagine someone's body fighting against itself. When we're saved in baptism, the Lord himself adds us to his church. Membership isn't an optional extra. It's a core part of being a Christian. And building on that, the Bible also calls the church God's temple.
But this isn't a temple of brick and mortar. It's a spiritual house made of living stones. And that's us. God's Spirit dwells in his people, turning every Christian into a walking, talking temple of God. This incredible truth calls us to holiness, to be a people set apart. It means we're part of something sacred that was in God's mind before the world began, a place where he lives and moves.
Finally, think of the church as God's field. This simple picture emphasizes our mission. We're called to cultivate the soil of human lives, our own, our families, and our communities. Like farmers, every member has a role in planting the seed of the gospel and watering it through teaching, prayer, and fellowship.
Paul reminds us, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth." While the work is ours to do, the results ultimately belong to God. These images, a family, a flock, a body, a temple, and a field show us that the church is a living, breathing, and divinely designed group of people. So now when we hear the word church, let these pictures help shape your view of its profound purpose and our vital role within it.
So here's the big question. Do you see how being part of a local church can help in your walk with Christ?
Bryan: Okay, so we tackled the big question there,
So what do you think here about being a part of the local church and how it can help you in your walk with Jesus?
Ryan: Yeah. And I love the field metaphor. Paul says you are God's field. And we are all planting and watering and doing this work because we're all in different stages of growth.
We're all growing and we're all at the same time tending the field, planting and watering. I think that helps me to see this is gardening work, right? This is doing something that is making a contribution to something that ultimately is going to happen in the mystery between God and the seed and the way he makes things grow.
And the other one I'd camp on is family. The church, ideally, isn't a slice of the pie like a hobby or even a job might be. It's more like family. It's a context for your life. It all happens with the church as a part of your hub and your center. That's how it should be. And I think sometimes we get away from that and it just becomes something we do in certain moments.
But that is not what it's meant to be. And the more we can get away from like we know, many of us who have been Christians for a long time, we know that the church isn't the building and isn't those times we come together.
And when we can get away from that and more than anything, make room in our lives for the church to overlap at all over the place, it really starts to change things. One of our elders really is committed to this vision and brings it up a lot that the church is your life. And that doesn't mean that we're trying to ask more of you all the time that you need to be doing more.
It's about letting the way we live and the relationships that we most anchor our lives in and the activities we most anchor our lives in be these things we do as a people of
Bryan: I love the picture of the field and the family. I think those are two really helpful ways of viewing who we are together and
When I think about the local church and how it can help me in my walk with Christ, really my question is, "How am I helping the church and how am I helping others in their walk with Christ?" you know, it's the idea there of, a threefold cord that isn't quickly broken.
That connection that you have with other people, we really do need other people to stand beside us and be with us, like that family, strong and, able deal with life's really big things, but also, like, the practical stuff. somebody a ride or, like, bringing somebody a meal or, counseling somebody in a difficult marriage situation or whatever.
Like, the church and its connection and the community that we have together, we're not just a support group. Like, this is not some AA meeting or, like, some social club or anything like that. It is a place that is designed to keep us growing and spiritually safe. And we want growth for us, we want safety for us, but we also want to provide that for each other.
And so, we get grounded in the teaching, as we read there in Acts about the Apostles' teaching. We read the Bible together, we study the Bible together, we discuss and meditate together and ponder very important spiritual things, but we also help each other, to stop believing sin's lies to keep us all soft and to keep us all moldable and pliable, like a field that's been cultivated and tended.
having elders, having shepherds who are watching out for you where we can talk to them, we can have counsel and trust that they're going to be, a listening ear when maybe no one else will be. Like, those kinds of people who we can open up to and hold us accountable for things, and that's an expectation that we have as we follow them.
We listen, we want them to correct us and reprove us and rebuke us when necessary. is all of this internal support structure, I think, that we see here in these pictures that, help really unify us together for God's mission. we build ourselves together, Christ builds us together, just like this early church did, so that we can turn the world upside down. Like, that's the kind of impact we want to have, and I think we will have that if we have that radical unity that the world just never is gonna have, because there's nothing that will unite the world together in such a pure and purposeful way as Jesus calling his church to himself.
Ryan: Yeah. I love that. Turning the world upside down. These who have turned the world upside down have come here to is the verse in Acts 17 6. It's just what a cool thing to bring out because the world is already upside down.
So really what we're doing is turning the world right side up. And so if we can stay mission focused, then that's the other part of this like you said, about the support group idea. we are a family keeping each other focused and growing, doing a great work again to quote Nehemiah.
We're doing a great work and we can't come down. We are focused on something that is bigger than any of us. And God said, you do this work together. And so it's a collaborative organism that is working together to accomplish God's purposes. And what a cool thing to set your hand to.
Bryan: So let's get into part five, where we pose the challenge for the week, and then we will take a look ahead at the next section and get into our closing blessing here.
Square One - 11: We've covered a lot of ground in this conversation, but there are probably some areas we haven't tackled that you'd find helpful when thinking about the church. So this week, make a list of questions about local church membership and ask them next time.
As you start the next conversation, take a moment to talk about them together. So how are we supposed to interact with the world around us, especially when we've committed to leaving behind that old life? Next time, we'll explore our incredible calling to be God's priests in our everyday lives. We'll talk about what it looks like to be salt and light, not hiding from our communities, but actively bringing flavor, preservation, and hope to our friends and neighbors.
May the Lord's people all be one, loving and supporting one another as we follow Christ.
Challenges and Questions about Church Membership
Bryan: Okay, so thinking about that challenge, make list of questions about local church membership and ask them next.
time.
To only have like a single session in this guided study for a discussion about the church, such a multifaceted and really important discussion to have I think it's kind of unfair. we need more time, but as somebody is going to have specific questions, it's a good idea to open it up to them to write those things down, and maybe you don't get to them all next time, but at least you've acknowledged them and that you can maybe talk about them in further discussions.
Ryan: Yeah. And as we thought about this discussion on the church, the next step really is about becoming part of a church. But there's a lot of discussions that might need to happen for that. You know, they might want to know, how do you become a church?
What are your experiences with being a member? what are the things I need to know about? What are the elders going to ask me? What are people going to expect of me? Do I have to get up and lead a prayer if I become part of the church? What does this mean? And so, you know, really helping to seed that conversation with some ideas about questions they might have.
A Closer Look: Thoughts on Leading the Discussion
Bryan: Alright, so let's turn this page here and we'll get into our closer look on our thoughts for leading session 11.
Bryan: Okay, so you obviously have a lot to say, Ryan, so you tell us all about what--as Why is this such an important organization for me to be a part of? What do you want somebody to really know
Ryan: So ideally, by this point, they have already become a Christian. And if not, we're still going to keep that in the background and we continue the conversation. But the next thing to keep them going is they need to be rooted in a church. And that's what we want to help start to happen, at least with this conversation, help them start to process that this is one of the changes they will need to make.
They might not be a joiner, but they're not a lone wolf anymore. They must be a part of a community and they will learn that that is where most of the great experiences of life happen. I mean, some people have strong families or best friends, but in a lot of ways, life can be just, you know, a lonely walk among strangers.
But they're going to discover in the church, Lord willing, we pray they will discover that this thing gets better and gets easier whenever we have each other to do it with. So that's what this is all set up. We want them to not walk away from these studies without realizing I need to become a part of a local church.
Bryan: loneliness is not something we were created for. We don't--we don't want to be alone. I don't want to be alone, some days it's not easy to be with other people, you know, because of the messiness, but ultimately I think at the end, showing somebody and letting somebody see that, yeah, in spite of all the messiness--we get it, we own it, we know it, we're still the best place to be.
It's still the best people to be with and around, and so, part one here we really did highlight that, I think, as we have this road trip metaphor in the beginning,
Ryan: Yeah. And as always, we're trying to just get everybody talking and create a connection. And the road trip metaphor sets up for part two, the purpose, which is about a walk together. We're not walking alone. And the big idea, which is about that, we're not meant to go through this journey alone.
Bryan: Yeah, and, you know, thinking about this reach-out question, it could very well be a really big can of worms. I acknowledge that. asking Ryan that question or asking me that question or asking, you know, a lot of other, people who've been around the church for quite a while, that question may not bring out a lot of the pain and hurt in those answers that you might find in the person you're talking to, so be ready for that.
Be ready for the difficulty that they might see in the church or experiences that they may have had that have been negative. This is where, honestly, being the good listener and bringing those good listening skills to the table is gonna be so important because we're asking for somebody's experience.
So, just hear them. Hear them, listen to them, share your own experiences, of course, but, asking somebody about their opinion or experience or thoughts of the church up to this point, be ready for the answer.
Ryan: Yeah. Because again, we're still working through possible barriers either to conversion or to them continuing their life of faithfulness to Christ in the church, becoming part of a church. So, yeah, we will reference again the getting to square one series that we did before we started square one, where we talked through skills like listening, asking questions, opening up about your stories here.
But this is not where we're trying to grab a hold of someone and forcibly convince them to see things differently. We're making a big space for them to work through their own stuff, and then we're sharing some truths that can start to reshape that as the Lord does his work with the
Bryan: Yeah, and we move on to part three here, which is that reading from the Book of Acts, where we're looking back to the earliest church, and it's such a helpful example to see how they work together and the ways that they were able to support each other, and as we read that, please be aware that you don't want to necessarily come across from the standpoint of, like, "What can the church do for you?"
I've had that problem in sharing the good news of Jesus with other people, like, trying to explain to somebody, like, "If you're a part of a church, they're gonna support you and help you and be there for you," and I kind of almost just left it there and didn't talk about what you can be doing for the church or, you know, whatChrist does for us all collectively in the church.
Like, it's not just about receiving from the church,
Ryan: a really good point. this reading does not present it as and this is what people were getting. It's as this is what people were doing together. And mostly it's about here's what the Lord was doing in these people. And it's like just the sense of wide eyed amazement at what was happening. like sometimes you just look at your life and like, I can't believe what's happening here.
Here it is. This is amazing. And that's the sense there. And there certainly have been times in the church that I've looked around many times and thought, wow, look what God is doing. But I forget to bring that perspective to pay attention to that. And that is more the idea here. Anda lot of people come from the world with a consumer mindset, I mean, a lot of people in the church have a consumer mindset, you know, like, what am I coming here to get?
I didn't get anything out of that service. it's a really important point you're bringing that I think has been present throughout this study as we've talked to people about serving Jesus. And then here in this study, I think is present that we come saying, what can I contribute to others?
How can I water? How can I plant? How can I build? and starting to have that sense. And that's definitely in the reading. And that I guess I'm starting to bring us into Section
Bryan: how can I contribute to the family, to the flock, to the body, to the temple, to the field? I mean, we just really have a lot of, if Ryan and I are gonna bring anything to the table, it's gonna be as many pictures as we can possibly bring. It's analogy land, baby!
But, you know, thinking about all these things, it's no question that we've been called out, that we have, an opportunity to contribute to this new group of holy people, and again, we've nodded to it a bunch, but like, the idea of the temple and the called-out people there, we will get into that on the next conversation for sure.
But, you know, all of us have this new role, this new special holy role that we can all fill, and, you know, each of us gets to, contribute to this in a different way, and so I wonder, as you're talking to somebody, which of these is going to land? Which of these pictures is going to land for them?
what resonates with them? Kind of key into that, maybe. Pay attention to whether or not they really have that deep, strong connection to a new kind of family, or, a new field in which God can work feel like there's a lot of opportunities for them to resonate with one of these examples, so antennas up and figure out what is actually landing with
Ryan: as with many of these big questions at the end of Section four, they're really closed. Yes. No questions. But it's meant to be this check in. Do you see how being part of a local church can help in your walk with Christ? And so there is an opportunity to sit with it. Let them think about it. Let them.
say they're yes or no, and then see if they have more to say, you know, just let it you know, you can nod along whenever they're giving their answer give some room.
Give the 10 second pause that they can speak into. And if not, I would suggest that you might want to have something a follow up question or something that you want to share or bring up there as a follow up to that. you might check in with, for instance, what you just asked.
What of these different images resonate? just have an opportunity. It's OK if it doesn't become a big discussion, but you might prepare something to bring the conversation to the next place beyond just yes or
Bryan: And so, the challenge here in part five, we leave it very open-ended, at this point, we don't necessarily know that somebody has given their life to the Lord yet, if they've been baptized yet or not. Maybe they haven't been, and so we don't, want to choose a challenge that would be specific to one path or another.
We want to be kind of general about it, so asking these generic questions to somebody, no.
matter where they're coming from, where they're at right now, what do you think about church membership? Do you have any questions? Is there something we can talk about next time? Or something we can, you know, talk about in future discussions?
Ryan: Yeah, it's a big conversation.
If you get to that level, you know, you just want to keep it simple.
A lot of questions can come out of this. So it can be a beginning to a larger conversation. Yeah.
Bryan: A
Conclusion and Next Steps
Bryan: lright, so as we've nodded to a few times and then in that last section, we are headed to a discussion on the next episode about the priesthood and really the priesthood in relation to how we serve the world around us and what our new relationship with the world is around us on what I am so excited about, our penultimate episode in the Square One series, Session 12.
We'll get into that next time, but thanks so much everyone for tuning in, you can find our show notes on our website at biblegeeks.fm/238. You can find this Square One series on our website as well. You can find articles and all kinds of resources on our blog if you want to go check that out.
if you have any questions, please reach out to us on our website as well. We'd love to answer the things that are burning within you about the Church. Maybe reach out and ask us your questions about the Church and about being a member of the Church. We'd love to help walk you through that as well.
And until next episode, everyone, may the Lord bless you and keep you.