Video Transcript: Life in the Church

David - We have this tendency to be so individualistic to kind of do things on our  own apart from community, I think and this is where we want to emphasize  particularly this lesson, but even just thinking through to solving relationships,  this must happen in the context of a church. You know, I think Scripture is clear  that, that we need to as followers of Christ to be committed to his church, that  we're not Lone Ranger's in Christianity, or even in this small road group of two or three or four people that are out to do this on our own. No, we're part of a body.  And we walk through this together and so so to be a part of member of  committed to a local church is essential if we're gonna be making disciples  among Christians and leading people to Christ. But sometimes we get confused  about what that what all that involves being a part of a church.  

Francis - I was gonna say, too, but it gives you a comfort knowing that you're not alone, even in in making a disciple. Because, you know, for me, like when I in  my early days trying to make disciples like, I don't know this, I don't know that,  well, I didn't have to do it by myself. I had someone that I could ask questions to  someone that would help me, I could look at, you know, what, I don't really know how to help you in that area. But I have a friend, you know, there's someone  else in the body that understands that area. We work together to make that  disciple. 

David - Which is so necessary, because that person, that person's growth in  Christ doesn't need to be just dependent on you. Like, yes, you're playing a  central role in that person's life. But they need pastors who are teaching them  the word, they need, even when and Paul talks about with Timothy older women teaching younger women, older men teaching younger men, like there's, there's  all kinds of perspective that you don't bring to the table even gifts and skills that  you don't bring to the table that that person can benefit from, in the context of a  local church. And so that doesn't mean you can't have any impact or, but it  means that you've got to supplement that with the entire body of Christ.  

Francis - Because there's there's issues that you and I have never dealt with,  you know, and yet there's other people in the body that I can draw from like, I  never was addicted, you know, but I have friends that were drug addicts, you  know that the Lord turned their life around, like, Okay, here, talk to my buddy, he 

gets this, I'm clueless on some of this. And if there's other sins that I'll struggle  with, and it's like, okay, I get you on this one. And it's this body thing. And it's  also when we talk about the importance of being a part of the church.  Understand, that doesn't mean I just go to a service, you know, listen to a  message, I went to a membership class and go to Bibles know, the Bible talks  about that's good. That's, that's good stuff. But it also talks about how we're all  given these gifts by the Holy Spirit, and to explain to the person that you're 

teaching Look, God gave you a unique gift. And it's like every member of the  body you know, I Corinthians says, like your a finger, you know, we need you  like, I need every finger for this body to work. And a lot of people don't really see themselves as this important part of the body. But we are according to Scripture, so we have to trust that. 

David - And to keep emphasizing that especially if you're walking through this  with maybe a new believer or a younger believer, what some might look at as a  less mature believer to know well, this believer though has the Spirit of God in  them and so not only do they need the church, but the church does need them  and not just need them to stand next to in a service and sing some songs so  that's good but there's all these one another's that we see all over scripture love  one another care for another bear one another's burdens, show hospitality to  one another. All of these things play out, not just in a once a week gathering,  they play out in day to day life in a community. And so disciple making is  intended to be attached to that overall community and disciple making divorced  from that community is going to be skewed from the. 

Francis - So you have to teach you know who you're leading from the start. Look this when you gather with the other believers is not just to soak in from them,  that's part of it. But also you were given a gift, the Bible says, I Corinthians 12:7,  for the common good. And, and the thing too, about this is, when you exercise  that gift, I really believe because it's a spiritual gift. It's a manifestation of the  Spirit, you experience the Holy Spirit. You know, we always try to experience the Holy Spirit, just by taking something in, but sometimes it's through our gifting.  There's times because I believe my gift is a teaching gift, that when I teach, it's  like I'm experiencing the Spirit of God at that moment, I'll walk off and go, Wow. I encourage these people actually help them by using my gift. We get charged up  by it. It's not this burden like you must use your gift. It's like no when you use it,  it's the best you actually built up and showed love to another brother in Christ. 

David - And that's the great thing about the church and being a part of a  member of a church, this is for our good, this is for others good ultimately for  God's glory in his body. And so, you know, there might even be some tendency  in some people that you're walking through this kind of thing, or even in your  own life to think, Oh, but my church has all these problems or my church has all  these roles. And the reality is, yeah, every church, the church, I pastor does  church you're part of does, like, they got problems because we're a part of it.  Like if you find a perfect church and you join that church, you're gonna mess it  up from the start, like there. But the beauty is we walk through this together and  so just to make sure not to let even even maybe even some past history with in  bad experiences people may have had with a church be a hindrance to say, 

alright, I'm just gonna make this I was apart from the church. The church really  needs to be central in this whole process, because God's designed it that way.  So let's work toward that end.