devotion and the bride

Wrestling with our text in Acts 2 where the earliest form of the church emerges, I keep running into the word "devoted".  As a practitioner of the pastoral arts for more than two decades ... Yes that makes me old ... I have long been in pursuit of what I would term the "keys of engagement" which would unlock the door of meaningful participation in the life of the local church.  I have lived through terms like "relevant" and "seeker", "missional", "attractional", "emergent" and many others that have been spoken into the dilemma of steady declines in church participation and attendance.  The recent report from the Pew Research Group clearly demonstrates that none of these discussions really offers silver bullet solutions.  The "rise of the nones" rings as clearly or perhaps more so in the great city of Seattle.  Could it be that this word "devoted" need be reinserted into the discussion?  Could it be something so radical as to put some biblical perspective back into our quest to find the missing link that would ... Although not solve it ... at least explain what has really occurred?
Could we put it in these terms ... that the Church in our culture struggles with the concept of being devoted to the biblical community often referred to as "the bride" of Christ.
The Acts 2 usage of the term "devoted" is used 5 other places in New Testament teaching, all referring to the idea of sacrificial, persevering and continual steadfastness.  As one who has lead many couples through their marriage ceremonies, all speaking in various terms that would be descriptive of this concept, I know only too well of the disconnect between belief and practice.
In contemporary language, rather than the "till death do us part" verbiage that we profess, perhaps it could more accurately read the "till something less difficult and more appealing comes along" that tends to be practiced.
It's widely recognized that continual exposure to failed marriage relationships (lack of devotion) tends to contribute to an increased reluctance to pursue marriage as reasonable option.  Could it be that the same is going on with faith identification, particularly as it pertains to participation in a church community?  My personal observation is that we are modeling, in practice, a "till something less difficult and more appealing" comes along.  The concept of devotion is less appealing than sin, repentance, and what you do with your money.  
Sunday we asked, "how can you tell what someone is devoted to?".  It wasn't a deep question at all.  Within seconds people offered the markers of finances, time, resources.  What would it look like in the context of our own lives to overlay that outline?  Would people recognize in us, not by words but by practice, a devotion to the "bride" or would they see "until something less difficult and more appealing" comes along?

We are not as strong as we think we are

We begin this week with a journey through the mission and madness of the community commonly known as the church.  I've spent the last 23 years loving and learning from what is biblically known as "the hope of the world".  I will admit that, on too many occasions, I am straining to discover any wisdom in Gods plan to use the church for something as monumental as this task.  More conversations than I care to admit have centered around my attempts to explain the "why" of being part of a church.  I have difficulty defending some of the absurdity and disconnect from what I feel must have been the original wisdom of the plan.  The question of "why" church has become even more personal in recent years as we have been laboring to establish this unique expression known as Common Table.  After more than 20 years in traditional ministry, no one knows the flaws and failures more intimately than I do ... And let's just say it out loud, unlike others, I don't have the convenient choice of just staying home on a whim.  I'm expected to be there.  Some would say that I'm paid to be there.  I can see the logic in that ... However, in my case, to stop there and assume that you know why a pastor type would be in church week after week, would fall short of the real truth.  It's very simple really.  The truth is that, when all of the obvious is stripped away, I need to be here.  The reality is, in the words of Rich Mullins, "we are not as strong as we think we are". We meaning the collective "we"... The "we"who want to wear the individual label of follower of Jesus, but not be tied down to the corporate gathering of a community.  It is the "we" who'd rather be the "I" ...as in the individual.
It's the spiritual equivalent of a 3 year old declaring that "I can do it myself".  Biblically and practically speaking, my experience is that we are indeed not as strong as we think we are.  Allow me to point out a few of these areas.  The first sign of trouble in someone's spiritual life is that they begin to disappear from community.  They isolate themselves.  Satan is described as one who prowls around, waiting to devour victims in the same way that other predators will go after those who are outside the safety of community.  The book of Hebrews encourages us to not give up gathering together because in community is where encouragement and life is found.  The book of Acts reveals the incredible power that manifests itself in community.  It is all about "we", for safety, for encouragement, for impact, for hope.
There is wisdom in Gods plan, ancient wisdom, from which we have much to learn.  I'm intending to lead us down that path over the next few weeks to discover how God intended us to be and the role that we have, collectively, in representing "the hope of the world".