Anyway, I was mulling about how significant it is for us (and maybe me especially) when church friends give us gifts – this one in particular made me feel very loved and affirmed and ‘thought of’ and we were really touched when we first got the email about it. It made me remember my birthday last year when S gave me a basil plant, and the year before that when the C’s gave us both Crocs (shoes, not animals).

Now I don’t actually think that ‘Giving Gifts’ is one of my top Love Languages and yet, receiving these gifts from church friends has been very significant and memorable for me. I guess gifts are a great way to bless people in ministry given how gifts can so tangibly convey thoughtfulness or thankfulness.

So being on the receiving end of gifts as well as having conversations about this with 5:17ers has made me consider how well we actually know and love each other in our church in specific, thoughtFUL ways – such as knowing each other’s Love Languages and considering carefully how we can ‘speak’ these languages to each other.

In my experience it takes a good deal of time and careful attention to get to know someone’s love language(s) – unless you directly ask which is perfectly fine too. I know that I haven’t gone around and done a survey of fellow 5:17ers though, even while it is our aim and hope that 5:17ers know we love them! (though the primary ways we are able to express this across the board are through prayer and pastoral care and conversation – which I think are forms of acts of service, quality time, and giving gifts)

It’s all made me wonder ultimately, how well we are all going at loving and showing love to our brothers and sisters. I’m encouraged that it has been happening recently as we’ve prayed together over various trials 5:17ers have experienced. But are we leaving some people and some needs and some love languages out? Can we be more careful and considerate about this as individuals and as a church family? Do we have a disposition to love without putting ‘legs’ on that love? Would outsiders look in and see by our love that we are Jesus’ disciples?

What do you think? Please do comment… but I hope you’ll also catch the ‘mulling bug’ and consider with me who you can show love to, by putting your love for them (and God) on legs.

The organisation Simon works for is Liberty Christian Ministries, Sydney.

The Brisbane equivalent is Liberty Inc – no website but you can email them at [edit: updated, correct address is info@libertyinc.org.au].

Exodus International is ‘the largest information and referral ministry in the world addressing homosexual issues’.

Reconnecting is a much smaller Canadian site for youth, adults, their friends and family.  This article from their site is a highly-recommended read for Christians generally, about how we can help create safe places in our churches for those who struggle with same-sex attraction.  We’ll pray this is happening all around Brisbane as a direct result of last Saturday night.

I have to confess that my mindset is often on what I want to get out of church. I want to honour God, to know Him better so that I can worship Him more. But try as I might, I can’t find much biblical support for a “church is all about just me and God” mindset. Yes, church is me connecting with God, but it’s not just me and God. Last night as I met with the other two elders of 5:17 church (Winston and Steve T), we got thinking about church as not just a group of individuals who just happen to meet together, but individuals who are inextricably linked together. That discussion made me think, and then turn to the Scriptures where there is such an abundance of Bible passages which talk about focussing on other people. The following is not the comprehensive list of one anothers in the New Testament, but it gives us a fair understanding of what our mindset should be when we think of our church or our weekly community groups:

1. Love one another with brotherly affection (Romans 12:10)
2. Live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16)
3. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God (Romans 15:7)
4. Greet one another with a holy kiss (Romans 16:16)
5. There may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another (Romans 12:25)
6. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace (2 Corinthians 13:11)
7. Through love serve one another (Galatians 5:13)
8. Bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2)
9. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you (Ephesians 4:32)
10. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
11. Always seek to do good to one another and to everyone (1 Thessalonians 5:15)
12. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13)
13. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near(Hebrews 10:24-25)
14. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed (James 5:16)
15. Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart (1 Peter 1:22)
16. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8)
17. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling (1 Peter 4:9)
18. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace (1 Peter 4:10)
19. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5)
20. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:11)

It’s quite an overwhelming list isn’t it? Because God is so big on our interpersonal relationsips, lets work on the way we relate to each other at church and community groups. And if you are ever in two minds about whether or not you should come to church or community group, please have another read of the above Bible passages – we need each other. We were made for community.

Church isn’t all about you or me, but (under God) it’s all about us!

• anyone: our church exists for everyone everywhere
• in Christ: we live and promote the life and hope found in a living relationship with Jesus Christ through trusting in His life, death, resurrection and present rule.
• new creation: Jesus changes us from the inside out – He took our guilt, shame and sin on the cross, and in its place has given us a new life and purpose.

I love these great truths and what they mean for us as individuals and together as a church. I was chatting with a few of the guys from church the other day, and we agreed that 5:17 church is going pretty well so far. There’s a real closeness to our relationships, and there’s a real committment to connecting with people around us and seeking to connect them with Christ’s love.

But we also see that it’s easy to find small faults in other people and the church as a whole. ‘Church bashing’ is a popular game in some circles (I’m really thankful that it hasn’t existed in 5:17 church yet) – and it’s an easy game because there are lots of faults in us and the church. But how often do we look for and see positive changes in people and the church? It’s easy to point out other’s faults, but how long is it since you pointed out someone’s positive growth? If we as a church are all about seeing lives transformed by Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), then we should be on the lookout for this transformation in each other – and encourage each other as we see positive signs of growth.

So, here’s an exercise for us all to do. Let’s acknowledge and work on the faults in our church. But let’s also be on the lookout for ‘signs of grace’. God graciously changes us from hopelessness to hope, despair to joy etc. God graciously gifts us with talents to serve and love other people. Look out for how God has been and is bringing positive change in your own thinking and actions. Be on the lookout for the way God is changing people around you. Be on the lookout for the way God is changing the church. And then share what you see with others – for each other’s good and God’s glory!

Why? Because the English word partnership is a translation of the Greek (the original language of the New Testament) word koinonia. What we found interesting is that the word koinonia is more commonly translated in the New Testament as fellowship.

Koinonia can mean partnership, sharing or fellowship. It was a word that was taken from the first century business world. It conjured up the image of two or more people who are bound together to bring about a shared vision – e.g. stakeholders in a company.

What does this tell us about true (biblical) Christian fellowship? Often we think of fellowship as two or more Christians hanging out together. Often after church, we stay and chat about sport or Master Chef etc.  But is this true biblical fellowship? Is this partnership in the gospel? Is this commitment to a shared vision? Hanging out as Christians, growing as friends can come under the banner of fellowship, but hanging out as Christians must be part of a bigger picture than just hanging out.

Partnership or fellowship is to partner or fellowship over something. And for Christians, the shared vision that we are stakeholders of is the gospel – the good news of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and rule (and everything this means for us and the world).

What does this mean practically for us? Last night we discussed the following: as well as hanging out and chatting about everything and anything, our conversations should be saturated with the gospel, delighting in God, sharing with one another what we’ve been learning from His Word, joining in prayer for the advance of the gospel (not least in the lives of those to whom we’ve been bearing witness), encouraging one another in obedience and maturing discipleship, bearing one another’s burdens and growing in sacrificial love for one another for Christ’s sake.

Partnership in the gospel means spending time together to bring about the same shared vision. Our fortnightly sport is an enterprise in spending time together for the purpose of growing as a group and connecting with others. So too is our Roma St BBQ’s. How else can we grow in fellowship? Let’s keep asking this question, and enjoy the results.

May we at 5:17 flourish in our fellowship as we connect with each other, and connect with others to connect them with Jesus!

For church related posts, keep your eye on this 5:17 blog. Hopefully there’ll be a lot more to come.

For more personal sharing, as well as reviews on books that I’ve been reading and how God is healing and changing me, have a look at my in the grip of grace blog.

“What would people say about your church? Is it the place to come and to ‘get well’? Or do you need to ‘get well’ to come?”

I read these questions in a magazine article written by a pastor called John Burke. They were questions that really made me think. As I read that above statement, it reminded me of a guy who met and then invited a despondent prostitute to his church. Her reply was: “I already feel bad about myself, why should I go to church and have people make me feel worse?”

When I heard that I felt ashamed. I felt ashamed for when I’ve given the impression that I’m in a state of ‘moral superiority’ in comparison to their ‘self-indulgent sin’. I felt ashamed for when my response to people has been judgmentalism instead of grace. I’ve felt ashamed for reenacting the Pharisee when he said “God, I thank you that I’m not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” (Luke 18:11-13)

When it’s all said and done, Christians are simply people who have said to God: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13). For it is only the person who seeks God’s grace and forgiveness who is justified in Jesus’ eyes (Luke 18:14).

So, what you’ll find at 5:17 church is a church that is full of ‘far from perfect people’. We want to be a community where the foundation of grace enables us to be honest with each other. We want to welcome extortioners, the proud, the greedy, the judgmental, adulterers, prostitutes, anyone into our midst. Together, we want to experience God’s gracious healing – spiritually, emotionally, physically, mentally, relationally!

So, if you aren’t perfect, we’d love to welcome you to 5:17 church. You don’t have to clean up your act or already be a Christian before you come to 5:17. You are most welcome just as you are!

Take last Saturday for example. After some odd throwing drills and some decent batting and bowling practice, 3 of us joined in on a ‘game’ of cricket being played by a father and primary-aged son from Fiji.  Growing up, I never ever came close to such a scenario, but thanks to 5:17 sport, there I was bowling full tosses and wides with the best of them!  :p  Pity about the dead rat lurking a metre away from the bowling crease.  :S  

It was lovely though to be part of the local community that gathers at Perrin Park on a Saturday afternoon, and who knows what God will bring of it through our collective investment and prayers.

(We might even get fit!)

More details about food and exactly where to meet in Roma St TBC soon.

It’ll be 4pm at the oval next to Perrin Park – park on Josling St, Toowong and you’ll see us there.  Bring water, snacks, frisbees / soccer balls / footies, rugs, towels, hats, and friends.

Come every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month; your potential atherosclerosis will thank you for it plus you get to hang out with 5:17ers.