Something New At Vineyard: Morning Chapel Services

The single greatest problem facing Christians in America is not American consumerism. It is not the media or secularism, or the sexual revolution. I believe the greatest problem facing Christians in America is individualism. Most Christians do not understand how deeply we need other Christians in order to grow in our Christian lives. Throughout scripture we are taught that the only environment a Christian can grow in successfully, is the environment of deep relationships with other Christians.

Because of American individualism, we have distorted Christianity into a religion that simply focuses on "me and Jesus." We want God to zap us directly from heaven as we kneel alone in our studies during prayer. We want God to not use intermediaries, but instead to directly fill our brains with counsel, release us from powerful addictions, and heal our emotional lives. Most often however, God will employ other people in bringing us to maturity and freedom.

Galatians 6.1 states: "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently." The apostle Paul is telling us that being restored when we are trapped in a sin likely will not happen apart from the intervention of other people. In other words, our relationships with one another, particularly if we are caught in an addictive behavior, are not a spiritual luxury. Rather, deep relationships with other Christians in the context of a group are a necessity.

From beginning to end, the Bible tells us that we do not do well alone. One of the first things God said to Adam in the Garden was, "It is not good for man to be alone." Adam didn't respond and say, "But, God, aren't you all that I need?" God knew that we could not fulfill his purpose in our lives in isolation. Simply stated, we Christians cannot continue to be American individualists and live well.

This is why A.A. recognized years ago that no matter how many times an alcoholic repented and resolved to change, there would be no long-lasting change apart from regular attendance at A.A. meetings and having a sponsor. The reason why Vineyard Columbus has so many recovery and support groups is because restoration is a work performed by Christ through other people in Christian community.

God uses other people not only to restore us, but to encourage and support us. We need other people to encourage us to keep going when we are tempted to quit. We need other people to say to us, "You can do it. Don't throw in the towel! Don't give up! Keep going!" I've lifted weights for years. There is an amazing difference when I have a spotter who encourages me to lift when I feel like I can't get the weight off my chest. Somehow I find the strength to lift when a friend says, "You can do it. It's just a little bit more. Push. You've got it! You've got it!"

During the Columbus Marathon, there are literally tens of thousands of people lining the 26-mile race course cheering the runners along. That is what a small group is meant to do - to cheer you along, to tell you that you can crash through the quitting points - emotional quitting points, spiritual quitting points, marital quitting points, vocational quitting points. If you are not in one of our more than 350 small groups, I want to warmly encourage you to check out a small group.

One other role that community can play for us concerns our devotional lives. I have discovered that no matter how many times Christians are preached to about prayer, and no matter how many books are written about the value of prayer, most Christians do not do very well devotionally by themselves. Let me ask you some questions about your own devotions:

• How many days in the last week did you practice extended prayer, worship, and Bible reading on your own?

• How many days in the last week, or in the last month, did you feel really connected to God during your practice of devotions?

• How would you rank the quality of your devotional life over the last year: poor, fair, good, or excellent?

I believe that we need to add a corporate dimension to our devotions, just like we have added a corporate dimension to restoration through recovery groups, and a corporate dimension to encouragement through small groups. Biblically, people prayed individually, but they also regularly gathered together to pray and worship (Acts 2.1, 42, 46, 47).

Our pastoral team at Vineyard has prayed about how to add a corporate dimension to our individual devotional lives. What we decided to do is to begin Morning Chapel Services on Tuesday, November 1st, here at the Vineyard. We plan to hold services Monday through Friday at 7:00 a.m. We will pray together, pray for each other, read scripture, take communion and be finished by 8:00 a.m.

We recognize that people who live far from the church building will not be able to take advantage of this. Our Chapel Service is meant to be a test pilot program to see whether Morning Chapel is something that individuals in the church take advantage of and are encouraged by. If it takes off, we would like to multiply Morning Chapel Services in other areas of town.

But beginning November 1st, we as a church want to tackle the individualism that has held back so many Christians' devotional lives. If you are able to join us for prayer, Bible reading, and communion at our Chapel Services, please do so. If not, please pray for God's blessing and presence as Vineyard people meet together here at the church.