Tuesday, September 30th

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Tuesday, September 30

Acts 2:42-47
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. 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.

A few years ago I read the story of Joe Ehrmann, a former NFL football player who became a volunteer coach at a small local high school. What made his story unique was his coaching philosophy. After every practice and every game he asked his players 2 questions.

He would gather the sweat and dirt covered players and ask, “What’s our job as coaches?” To which the 16-18 year old boys would respond, “To love us.”

Then he would say, “What’s your job as players?” And again the players would yell back, “To love each other!”

At first it seems like some kind of weird oxymoron; coaching young men to play an aggressive and sometimes violent game by teaching them to love each other; but the more I thought about it, the more I got it.

It’s one thing to block the guy in front of you because it’s your assignment and the coach will yell at you if you don’t. It’s quite another thing to block the guy in front of you because you love your teammates, and because you know your coach loves you.

It should not surprise us that Joe Ehrmann was not only a very smart football coach but a committed follower of Jesus Christ. He knew that the greatest motivation in the world is not fear, but love; and he knew that that love for each other is the foundation of both a team and the church.

Read again how Luke describes this early body of believers:

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship,

And all who believed were together and had all things in common...

They were devoted to each other.

The word Luke uses is koinonia, an ancient Greek word that carried the meaning of communion, joint participation, the sharing of life. The English word most often used to translate koinonia is fellowship. Now “fellowship” is a good word but I fear its meaning has been watered down a bit so that many of us think of a potluck supper rather than the deep and powerful bond that Luke is trying to describe.

Koinonia fellowship is what high school football players feel after sharing 100 days of body breaking practices and then 10 games during which they give their blood, sweat and tears to reach the goal of becoming a championship team. Even though they are just kids playing a game, they give real commitment; feel real pain, and exult in real joys; and they do it together.

The men and women Luke is talking about did more than worship together on Sunday morning, they shared life. They worshiped together, prayed together, ate together, shared their homes and possessions with each other. One gets the sense that they needed each other for survival.

I’m not sure we can recreate that same sense of intensity and devotion to koinonia today. We live in a different time and culture. The threats to our faith and to the church are not opposition and persecution but, rather, comfort and busyness. We have our own homes and our own stuff and we live our own lives. If we have time we will worship together for an hour on Saturday night or Sunday morning. That’s good, but it’s not koinonia!

But the truth is that we do still need each other, we just don’t feel the same need to need each other!

Just yesterday I received a text message in the middle of the day that informed me that a person from our church family had been rushed to the hospital in critical condition. The message said some FBCG staff were gathering for prayer at the East Campus. By the time I arrived 10 minutes later there were about 20 FBCG staffers gathered in the sanctuary praying together for the hospitalized person. About 20 minutes later I was at the hospital where 10 more people were already gathered to care for and pray with the family of the person who was in the Intensive Care Unit. There were tears and hugs and more prayer as we all learned the gravity of the situation. But there was more than just concern over a friend who was very sick. There was the joy of koinonia.

As I left the hospital an hour or so later I realized I had just been blessed to be part of an Acts 2 experience. I realized I was part of a church family of people who are devoted to one another. I realized that the koinonia that the Holy Spirit forged 2000 years ago is still possible today, even for self-sufficient and hyper-busy people living in the suburbs of North America.

May we be people who do more than worship together. May we also pray together, serve together; laugh together and cry together. May we be a people and a church devoted to the fellowship.


Pastor Brian Coffey