7 minute read
RELIGION
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The obvious diff erence of being a ‘belonger’
CHURCH-COMMUNITY CONNECTION Pastor Ed Delph
Peoria Times Columnist
We often miss the obvious. Let me illustrate with a story.
A farmer couldn’t tell his two horses apart, so he tried cutting the tail off one horse. That didn’t work because it grew right back. Then he cut the mane off the other horse. That didn’t work either because it grew right back. Finally, he measured them and found that the white horse was 2 inches taller than the black horse.
One of the most signifi cant casualties of the COVID-19 virus has been the destruction of relationships, especially where connections are required for the best results. Zoom meetings, masks, social distancing and fear of death, to name a few, have distanced us from one another in what should be obvious ways. It’s affected politics, marriages, business and friendships as people, hypnotized by watching mainline and social media, become more “angry and relationship challenged.”
Unfortunately, it seems like the only ones who have benefi ted from COVID-19 are our dogs.
COVID-19 restrictions have affected the church and its congregants. How? By eliminating a vital aspect of the church. Let me explain.
Luciano DeCrescenzo once said, “We are all angels with only one wing; we can only fl y while embracing one another.” That’s quite a word picture. At the beginning of time, before there was ever vision, tasks, achievement, goals, politics and the like, there was a relationship. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit were (and are) so much in a relationship that they were called “One God.”
Becoming a Christ follower is about connection. The church was designed by God to be upward, inward and outward, all at the same time. Christians were intended to connect with God, connect with each other and then connect with the community. In the context of connecting with one another (their inward ministry), we discover and embrace our other wing. The Bible says that every believer has a measure of grace. So, if I have a measure of grace and you have a measure of grace, and we connect in a godly relational way. We both move from a measure of grace to grace without measure.
That’s why God designed the church to be a team. The church is called to exhibit grace without measure, or the ministry of Jesus, to the world. Teamwork makes God’s dream work. When God’s people connect with God and one another, it creates a “vibe” that gets into the atmosphere of the church and then spreads to the community. Jesus pointed this out in John 13:35: “By this, all men (the community) will know that you (God’s people) are My disciples if you have love one for another.” Right relationships release real ministry both inside and outside the church.
The Greek word the Bible uses to describe this supernatural synergy is “koinonia.” Koinonia is fellowship and connection with God through the Holy Spirit and fellowship with others in the Holy Spirit. It’s when people who have the Holy Spirit connect with other people who have the Holy Spirit and then relate in a way that the life of God happens among them. It’s the right relationships on steroids, empowered by God. It’s alive. It’s beyond being friends. It’s belonging, not just believing. It’s spontaneous. It’s refreshing. It’s healing. It’s grace in action, in and among believers. It doesn’t have to be inside the four walls of the formal church. Koinonia can happen where two or three gather in Jesus’ name.
Koinonia was designed to distinguish a Christian gathering from other types of meetings. Hashtags, Twitter, iPhones and Facebook can’t compete with koinonia. Socializing is fi ne, but it doesn’t create the awe and wonder of the life of God fl owing through and among Christ believers and “belongers.”
Think about it. What is the church? The church is a community of calledout ones who come into unity (oneness) around Jesus and each other. The church is where the pursuit of Christ, with others, is the ultimate goal. It’s living the Word of God, not just learning the Word of God. Our desire to pursue Christ with our church family must be more than the pain of a rebuke, the disappointment of a moral failure, and the ups and downs of church life.
The church is family. I don’t choose who my family is. God does. The church is where people persevere together through the ups and downs, victories and disappointments of life. It’s growing up together. It’s part of
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Harpists to hit the stage at Bellevue Heights Church
BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Peoria Times Executive Editor
HarpSynergy will be featured in concert at Bellevue Heights Church at 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 1.
The public is invited to the free concert. A free-will offering will be received. The concert is part of the church’s Summer Sundae Sunday.
The 12 or more harpists on stage at any HarpSynergy concert are students of harp virtuoso Dr. Heidi Hernandez. They range in age from 7 to 75.
Hernandez teaches from a private studio in Phoenix and via Skype to students in a large surrounding area. In concerts, they perform a variety of classical and popular selections.
Born and raised in Oklahoma, Hernandez earned master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Arizona. While there, she was named the university’s outstanding teaching assistant.
She has performed as a harpist internationally and participated in many prestigious harp contests in America and abroad. She has been a member of the Phoenix Symphony for more than 17 years.
Following the Aug. 1 concert, attendees can enjoy free ice cream sundaes in Franklin Hall on the Bellevue Heights campus at 9440 W. Hutton Drive in Sun City. Masks are not required.
For more information, call 623-9778308 or visit bhcsuncity.com, where the concert will be available or online viewing.
BELONGER FROM PAGE 18 something bigger than a person is. It’s more than believing. It’s belonging. It’s considering others, both inside and outside of the church, more important than ourselves. It also draws others to Christ as those “belongers” fi nd a need and meet it in the community.
It’s wonderful to be a believer. But, may I say it is even better to be both a believer and a “belonger.” Why? That’s where true koinonia and angel’s wings are distributed.
Here’s our takeaway for today. Those of you who are believers, don’t let COVID-19 get you out of the habit of going to church or a gathering of genuine believers each week. Then, assuming we are not on total lockdown, get back to where your other wings are. Get back to where you once belonged. After all, none of us is as great as all of us.
I hope the difference between a believer and a “belonger” is now more obvious to you than the white and black horse was to the farmer.
Ed Delph is Phoenix native who lives in the North Valley. Since 1980, he has pastored three churches in the Valley. He is a noted author of 10 books, weekly columnist in several local and worldwide newspapers, teacher, business owner and speaker. He has been to or ministered in over 100 countries. He is president of a worldwide ministry, NationStrategy.
To learn more about Pastor Ed Delph, the Church-Community Connection and NationStrategy, e-mail nationstrategy@cs.com, call 623376-6757 or visit nationstrategy.com.
heidi hernandez
wi harp synergy in Concert
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Information 623.334.9482 Dr. Ron G. Rockwell – Pastor Sunday: 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m.
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Harvest CHurCH 8340 W. Northern
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(a Love Offering will be received)
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following the performance!
