Becoming a Christian means now not only being in new relationship with God, but also with other people and our environment. In fact, "I AM ... in relationship". In this step we focus on what it means to be a part of Christ's community, and how we should live our lives together.

As mentioned in Beta previously, a key to being able to live one's life genuinely in community with others is growing to have a true understanding of who you are in Christ, and also beginning to perceive others in the same light. As someone has once said, the key to being comfortable in community with others is first being comfortable with yourself, and to grow in being yourself it is good to be around others who make it easy to be yourself.

But beyond knowing your own identity, to be an effective part of a group you need to know and be committed to the vision, mission, and values of the group. As the Scriptures say, "Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?" (Amos 3:3).

From this vision necessarily comes the mission statement:

(a shorthand way of saying the mission is to help all people to become subjects within Christ's kingdom and thus experience life to the full; each of us with our unique individual gifts contributes to teaching, modelling, and making possible others' entry into the Kingdom)

Now when it comes to the values all disciples should hold and becoming more and more aligned with, it follows that these will be congruent with the nature of the King Himself, and will be those which maximise positive harmonious relationships:

It behoves us, however, to expand on these values, especially as it is in these very areas that sin has so drastically affected us, and we need to have our minds as thoroughly renewed as possible in the realm of interpersonal relationships. But remember, these interpersonal values (toward God, each other, and creation) are all the natural outworking or fruit of coming to know and understand our new identity in Christ! These values are not commands to be obeyed slavishly but rather should be the joyous fruit of our faith! (cf Romans 1:5).

As a result we will seek to embody and fulfill the following values ...

Jesus came to build His church, that is, a community of people united by and living for Him. However, there are so many wrong ideas around that we need to take time to examine in some detail what 'church' really is. The following begins to do just that ...

A Christian community is ...

A. a people, not a building

B. not a few hours a week together, but a continual sharing of life

C. an organism, not an organisation

D. not a solo, but a symphony with Christ as conductor

E. not a place to hide but a mirror that reflects back to us our relationship to God

F. an army engaged in continual warfare, not national guardsmen called out for occasional duty

II. A Christian community is alive

A. There is nothing dead about God. He desires to impart His life to us both individually and corporately.

B. A Christian community is alive because God has established a relationship with us as a covenant people. There are four references to Christ and His Church in Scripture referring to our intimate life and relationship with Him.

C. A sure indication of God's life in His Church is death and destruction of the old to make way for the new life of the Holy Spirit.

III. A Christian community is a fresh wineskin

A. New Wine must be put into fresh wineskins

B. Old wineskins include the traditions and philosophies of this world that hinder the work of the Holy Spirit in the church. Tradition, like the robe of Christ, is lifeless and powerless without Christ's presence.

C. A Christian community is a fresh wineskin for the Holy Spirit. The freshness of the wineskin is maintained by home fellowships.

D. The vision for Christian community is to provide a fresh wineskin able to contain all the new wine God pours into His people. Home fellowship groups must "be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1:22) if this vision is to be fulfilled. Fruitfulness ensures that maturity and Christ-like character are built into individual lives so that the internal condition of the home group is one of love and unity. A healthy home fellowship will also multiply and reproduce as each member is a witness to others in word and example.

(This material was written by Todd Burke and Mike Hudgins, New Covenant Community, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)

In fact, we can see that really, the Christian community is just like a large family. Indeed, family relationships in their ideal form are the true defining basis for all that occurs in the Christian life!! We cannot escape the human family as a model for living life!

When it comes to the Family of God, we may note the following simple truths:

1. God is our Father, creator, redeemer, saviour, shepherd, teacher, comforter, refuge, deliverer, provider, match-maker, and more! We can totally trust Him to provide for all of our needs. We know the one and only God as a tri-unity: God, Word of God, Spirit of God. When the Word of God became flesh (as Jesus Christ of Nazareth), God became known as the "Father of our Lord Jesus Christ", with Jesus therefore being known as "the Son of God".

The following diagram seeks to illustrate how God can be Trinity and yet One:

Using, an analogy from our own human existence, allow me to restate the diagram narratively: When you are listening to a person speak, you are listening to their words, and yet their words represent them totally. Of course, the person is much greater than their words, and yet they are indivisible. Their ability to speak has also always been present from birth - there was never a time when it was not there. Furthermore, if we listen to a tape recording of the person speaking, the words carry the same effect. Same, too, if we read his/her book. This being said, it makes absolute sense to say that in some greater sense, Jesus Christ of Nazareth is God's Word come to us not in the form of a tape recording but in the form of a person. Furthermore, when we consider that God addresses humans, who are made in His image, as tri-partite beings (being called upon to love Him with all our heart, soul, and strength [spirit-soul-body]), it comes as little surprise that God Himself is none less than a Trinity.

2. We who have the Holy Spirit are part of God's 'family'; this means all others filled with the Holy Spirit are our 'brothers, sisters'. We are all intimately connected. We are also co-heirs with Jesus Christ our Lord & master, who is not ashamed to call us brothers, & who is always with us!

3. As a Family, God wants us to spend time together with Him & each other, praying, listening, talking, contributing, celebrating, relaxing, playing, being creative, sharing our resources, reading & studying the Bible. Let us thus privately & corporately truly praise, worship, adore, & give God thanks from the depths of our being, remember & proclaim Christ's sacrifice in the Lord's Supper, & meet together regularly to encourage each other.

4. We are to grow in understanding God's values, purpose, & mission:

• God is holy, & He wants us to be holy, faithful & pure. But He is also merciful, and we may approach His throne of grace at any time to receive mercy & find grace to help us in our time of need!
• God wants all people to be saved as well. Let us follow God's promptings in helping others to become part of His Family, too!

Ultimately, therefore, the fact that we are part of a family, and need a family for our own shelter, security, growth, existence even, are the prime motivators for "being church" or getting together, over meals (as normally families do) etc ..... And note, it is fathers and mothers who usually get the family to do things, come together, etc. The church needs these too! (Senior Pastor and wife, etc), until ultimately the kids want to come and see their parents, siblings, etc. This is the aim!!

Allow me now to say a few words on key Christian disciplines, the practice or absence of which will almost certainly determine the ongoing life-quality you experience.

It is the lifeblood of communication with God. It is as important for our spiritual health as breathing is to our physical health. It is not thinking to yourself about God, it is actually talking to God, interspersed with times of quietness to listen to what He might say to you in your spirit. Pray often, regularly, continually. Pray in the morning alone in your own private space. Pray 'under your breath' as you go about all that you do through the day. Pray together with a 'prayer-partner' on a weekly or fortnightly basis. Pray together as a corporate group. Remember, Jesus said that He is with us always to the end of the age (Matt 28:20), that means we can talk with Him at any time. Do it!

As to what we should pray, the Bible says to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests (Eph 6:18). This indicates that we can ask the Holy Spirit what we should pray for, and when these thoughts come to our mind, talk to God about them. He will generally direct us to pray for other Christians and their needs, our own building up in the faith, boldness, intercessions for unsaved people and our government leaders. The following is a prayer encapsulating all of Paul's prayers from his letters to the churches:

This is best the response of encountering the presence of God, or of Him revealing truth to you that excites you! But since all of life should be seen as a gift from God, and everything can seem marvellous to your new eyes, it is always appropriate to direct your thoughts and energies towards exalting God and telling Him how great He is! It will also often involve thanksgiving for all the great things He has done, not only for you but also for others. Remember, even the circumstances that seem bad to you are engineered by God! Praise reveals a spirit of gratitude, acknowledging that you yourself are not God, and giving God the glory He deserves. A proud person cannot praise God, and since God opposes the proud, cultivate a spirit of praise! Praise God any time. Praise Him alone. Praise Him together in the assembly of the saints. Praise Him amongst non-believers. Praise Him!

Whereas prayer is like breathing, Bible reading is like food. Whilst air sustains us, food helps us grow (note that in prayer we may also receive a 'word from God' to nourish us, but if it is from God the principle thereof will always be in line with what He has already revealed in the Bible). Through reading, hearing, or meditating on memorised portions, our minds are renewed in accordance with the truth, and we grow into Christ-likeness. The word of God is living and active, able to pierce even to the division of soul and spirit, judging the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). For the word to have this effect it should not just be sought to be memorised but to be understood and practiced.

Importantly, since none of us can have an exhaustive knowledge of truth, it is always good to share with and learn from other Christians. Whilst the Holy Spirit is our teacher, and we need to pray also that He will unfold the truth to us (cf John 14:26; 1 Corinthians 2:6-16), we need to have open hearts and minds to the insight of other genuine seekers of truth, and test all things, holding fast to the good (cf 1 Thess 5:21). We need to be humble enough to submit our insights to the Christian community at large (whether in person or through books), not only to clarify our own thoughts, but also to safeguard us and others from heresy. As Paul advised Timothy "Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers" (1 Timothy 4:16).

Combining then the churches vision, mission, and values, we can come up with following succinct table which not only succinctly outlines how the church is to be, but also what it is to do:

[this tabular information was compiled by Rev. Steve Clarke, BCV]