Listening to their amazing stories and the accumulated wisdom of their many years of walking with Christ reinforced my conviction that one of the most compelling reasons for our regular gathering is that when we come together we draw from a deep well of experience, knowledge and wisdom that exists within the church family. We regularly gather because that's what the Bible instructs us to do. But more than that we gather because we are strengthened by one another and because we learn from one another.
I have my own experience to draw from her. In a very real sense, I was not only raised in the church, but was raised BY the church. By that I mean the relationships I developed by attending church with my family reinforced the biblical principles I was taught in the home. Not only did I learn the Bible didactically within the church but also experientially by the way people lived around me.
This is what we mean when we say biblical community is an important discipline of the faith. The community of grace is an environment of dynamic learning from cradle to grave.
But you cannot be passive in the process, you have to dedicate yourself to involvement. The growth process is enhanced as we go to church habitually, and when we serve and actively pursue relationships with other believers. One of the great benefits of being a part of a large body of believers is the eclectic variety of influences and accumulated wisdom around you and your family.
I believe this is one of the most important reasons that Jesus gave us the church and that God called us into faith community. To further reinforce this point, take just a minute to watch this slice of the interview John Ortberg did with Christian scholar, philosopher and head of the University of Southern California School of Philosophy Dallas Willard recently at Menlo Park Church in San Francisco California:
John Ortberg and Dallas Willard from MPPC on Vimeo.
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