The Urban Church

Well, let me say a word of welcome to all of you, especially if you're joining us for

the first time.

My name is Tommy.

I'm the rector of this church, and so we're delighted to have you.

We're going to have a little time that we spend looking at God's Word together, and

then we are going to have a baptism, which is something that we are very excited about.

It's one of our absolute favorite things to do.

If I haven't had a chance to meet you and you're new, let's talk after the service.

I'd love a chance to shake your hand and say hello.

And for the men who made it back from the men's retreat, well done you.

Well done you.

That's impressive.

In 2010, there was a famous, really priceless painting of Picasso's called The Artist, and

it was hanging in the Met in New York.

It's about six feet tall.

And there was an art class happening, and one of the participants of the art class sort

of stumbled and lost her footing and slammed into this painting and tore a huge gash right

into the middle of it.

Maybe you remember this happening.

Imagine that you come in the museum the next week and you see that painting and you see

that large gash in the painting.

I assume you probably wouldn't blame Picasso for that, right?

I assume you probably wouldn't blame the painting for that.

I assume that you would assume that something had happened to that painting.

It had gotten messed up and it needed to be restored, which it was restored.

They took three months of painstaking work to restore it back to the original beauty of

this masterpiece.

The point of that is to say this.

I think that there is a similar kind of thing that happens when we consider the church, right?

When we see things happening in the church, such as moral failings by prominent leaders

or abuse and scandals that are then covered up or any of the other things that we could

name that are very real wrongs that happen in the church, there can be a temptation for

some people to say, well, see, that's the problem with the church or that's why I don't believe

in God.

But in the same way that I would say we shouldn't blame Picasso or the painting for what happened

to it, I would humbly suggest that it doesn't make sense to blame God or to blame the church

for the fact that there are times when the church is used and abused and mistreated and

damaged for all kinds of reasons, right?

Some unintentional, many intentional.

Because as we look at Scripture, the church is, in fact, God's masterpiece.

Everything that Jesus did, everything that He accomplished in His life and His death and

His resurrection was not just to accomplish individual salvation.

It was to establish a community, which is the church, which is God's plan A for the world.

And there is no plan B for the world.

And so I think the question that we should ask is the same question that a person looking

at that painting should ask.

What was the original artistic vision for this masterpiece?

What should this look like?

And we're going to ask that about the church this morning, and I think there's no better place

to look than Acts chapter 11, this is where we see for the first time the gospel come to a major

Acts 11 · chapter mention

city center and a church is established in the heart of the city, perhaps the world's first urban church.

Antioch is no small city.

It was the capital of Syria, the third largest city in the world at this time.

And the reason that this church is so successful and becomes a launch pad for mission all around

the world is because it had within it certain characteristics that you don't often see together

in the same church.

And so this is not an exhaustive list that we're going to look at, but there are certain characteristics

that are held together in tension in this church that I think were the key to its effectiveness.

So let's pray, and then we're going to look at three of them.

Lord, we thank you for your word, and we thank you that you are always present, that you are

always at work in our lives, that your word is living, that it is active, that it never goes out

and returns to you void.

It accomplishes everything that you set out for it to accomplish.

And we pray now that we might sit under your word, that you might open our hearts, that we might

receive what you have for us this morning.

Lord, for our good, but chiefly for your glory, we pray that you would do your work in us through

your word.

In Jesus' name, amen.

So the first characteristic that we see in this church in Antioch that is so wonderful is

that it is what we would consider to be lay-driven, leader-supported.

Now, what do I mean by that?

Well, the word lay is simply an old word that means anyone who's not ordained.

So a lay person or the laity, that refers to people who are not ordained, ordinary Christians.

And one of the first things that we learn about the church in Antioch is that it was started

by lay people, ordinary Christians who are simply trying to follow Jesus faithfully in

their daily lives.

And these are not people who had a master plan to go plant a church in a major urban center.

These are ordinary Christians who are fleeing persecution, and they just happen to wind up

in Antioch looking for a safe place to root down, right?

I don't know what brought you to D.C.

Could be a job, internship, school, marriage, whatever.

Multiple, all of the things on that list brought me to D.C., right?

Years ago.

But what this shows us is that we can have our reasons for coming to a place like D.C.

or Antioch, and then God can have His reasons for bringing us where He brings us.

So they didn't come here planning to plant a church.

What happens is that they end up in Antioch.

They're fleeing persecution.

We don't even know their names.

All we know is that they started telling people about Jesus.

And the Holy Spirit began to work.

And a lot of people started coming to faith.

And before long, you have this young, thriving church in the heart of the city.

And yet, this grassroots, Spirit-filled movement was not totally leaderless.

Barnabas comes down from Jerusalem.

Very important.

In order for this church to survive, it has to be connected to the larger church.

It has to be connected to a larger body where there can be support and accountability.

So often these days, we see what goes wrong when churches have no source of accountability

outside themselves.

But notice that Barnabas doesn't just arrive and say,

Well, you know, good job, normal people.

Step aside the professionals here.

That's not his approach.

Barnabas' entire ministry is to encourage the ministry that is already happening,

is to encourage what the people there are already doing.

And then he raises up other leaders who do the exact same thing.

And you have to admire Barnabas here.

Because there can be a temptation, especially in a situation like this.

If you're a leader like Barnabas, there can be a temptation to want to be the star of the show.

And certainly there are many churches that get built up entirely around one personality.

They become a kind of cult of personality.

But we know enough about Barnabas to know he is humble enough to realize,

It is not about me.

It is not about Barnabas.

It's about what God is doing.

And in any church, in any organization, but especially the church,

a good leader's job is to make themselves less necessary, not more necessary.

So what does he do?

He raises up other leaders.

He has a good friend, Paul.

Paul is much more highly educated than Barnabas, perhaps much more gifted than Barnabas,

the kind of leader that might make most leaders feel threatened.

And yet Barnabas is not threatened by gifting and talent.

And he travels a hundred miles to Tarsus to recruit his friend Paul to bring him back to help encourage

and support and strengthen the ministry there in Antioch.

And that's exactly what he does.

So we have this wonderful balance here in Antioch.

We have leaders who provide oversight and direction.

But when it comes to the ministries of the church, such as evangelism or caring for those in need,

the whole community takes part.

And when you see that, you say, that is a healthy church.

It's what we might call an every-member ministry culture.

Everyone is involved.

Everyone is necessary.

When someone doesn't show up, there are things that don't get done,

because every single person has a vital part to play.

And this is such a powerful corrective for us today as we look at the church in our time and place.

As we said, so many churches are built around a charismatic leader.

They are leader-driven, not lay-driven.

Congregants are basically audience members who come to watch a performance,

to support the leader and buy their books.

And this is the opposite of how the Apostle Paul thinks about the church.

His favorite metaphor in the Bible for the church is the human body,

where he says no part is superior to any other part.

What matters is that every single part is serving its purpose.

And the way a body works is that every part, right, every cell, every organ,

has to do its part to serve the whole.

And this is extremely important as we think about what it means to be a part of a church body.

Because if we are all like parts of a human body, that means, among other things,

that the best way for me to get my needs met

is to focus on meeting the needs around me.

It's very counterintuitive.

But if we are, in fact, like a human body,

then the more I seek the well-being of the body,

and the healthier the body is as a result,

the more then I will get my needs met in return.

The more I give myself away,

the more I will gain myself.

We are like a human body.

And there's a tremendous blessing that comes with serving in a local church.

If you want to grow in your faith,

if you want to develop deeper friendships and community,

this is how it happens.

There's no secret way for that to happen.

There is no…

It is not rocket science, right?

This is how the church is designed to function.

The more you are involved and serving and giving yourself to the broader community,

the more you are going to grow in your faith.

If you're here primarily to take,

if you are in a place where you just want the church to meet your needs,

there really is not a category for that in Scripture.

That's really not what it means to be part of a church community.

And this is an important thing for us all to be reminded of,

because I know for some of us,

this might be the first church you've ever really been a part of.

And there's not a lot out there,

other than places like this in Scripture,

that tell us what that should actually look like.

And so it's important to understand

what we mean by being involved in a local church.

So we say, well, what does this look like?

Well, it means on a basic level

that every single person who calls Advent their home

should be actively involved in serving in some way.

If you're here from another church,

I would strongly encourage you,

if you're not actively involving and serving in that church,

to go back to that church next week,

and to get involved.

This is what it means to be part of a church body.

So for example, if you go to Church of the Advent,

what does this look like on a practical level?

I'll give you one example.

Right?

The next time Kirsten and Heather reach out and say,

we need people to love and serve our kids or our youth,

then the thing that you do is say,

yes, I will do that.

What do you need?

And there's a whole lot of different ways that you can serve.

But simply saying yes and then showing up and doing it.

And why do you say yes?

Not because I said you should,

or not because you think you should,

or not because you're doing anybody a favor.

The reason you say yes is because you need to say yes.

It's because you need it for yourself.

You realize this is what it means

to be part of a church community.

This is actually how I'm going to grow in my faith.

If, you know, showing up and giving some of my life

and my energy and my time and my love and my attention

to the next generation of Christians,

that's how I'm going to grow.

One of the best ways to grow in your understanding of the Bible

is to have to teach the Bible.

I mean, take it from me.

I often think one of the only reasons,

one of the only ways that God knew

He could get me actively reading Scripture in an ongoing way

was to put me in a position where I had to stand up and teach it.

This is how we grow.

We give ourselves to the body.

The same could be said for the welcome team,

the production team, our prayer ministries,

the list goes on and on and on.

If you want help figuring out what this looks like for you,

I would love to talk to you about it.

Any of us would.

So the first characteristic of this church

that I think makes it so effective

is that it is lay-driven,

but it has support from godly leaders.

It's not a cult of personality.

It's not leader-driven.

Every single person is actively involved

in serving and ministering in the church

and to the broader community.

That's the first thing.

The second characteristic we see

is that this church is both outward-facing

and it's also Christ-centered.

It's outward-facing and Christ-centered.

Because of its proximity not only to Jerusalem

but also to Asia and to Africa,

Antioch was an incredibly diverse,

pluralistic, multicultural city.

It really was unprecedented at this time.

And the city had at least 18 ethnic quarters

representing different ethnic groups

that were called Antioch home.

And they had actually built walls.

This city was built around 300 B.C.

And they had actually built walls

to keep these ethnic quarters

separate from one another

because of all the infighting

between the various groups.

So to keep the peace,

they just kept them separate.

And so some of the Jewish Christians

fleeing persecution

when they ended up in Antioch,

it says that they only wanted

to interact with other Jews.

And you know, that makes sense.

I think especially in times of crisis,

we can tend to want to seek out

what is most comfortable

and most familiar.

And so that makes sense

if we understand human nature.

But what's really amazing

about this account

is that there are also Christians

who are facing the same crisis

and yet somehow they stay,

they remain outward facing.

They never lose sight

of the mission given to them by Jesus

to bring the gospel to the nations.

So they're willing to share the gospel

with just about anybody

who's willing to listen.

And because these Christians

were outward facing,

they begin developing relationships

and sharing the gospel

across ethnic and cultural lines.

And the gospel begins

to transform the city

because as people come to faith in Christ,

in all of these various ethnic quarters,

people are coming to faith

and word is spreading.

And then these Christians

start to go over the walls.

Because they want to all meet together

to worship Christ.

And you have this unprecedented,

diverse community

rising up

where people are going over the walls

to worship together

for the first time in history.

And if we look a couple of chapters later

in Acts chapter 13,

Acts 13 · chapter mention

we see the impact this has

on that early church.

As we look at the leadership structure

of this church,

there's incredible diversity.

The leadership body

of the church in Antioch

has people representing

three continents

and four ethnic groups.

You have to understand,

this is centuries before diversity

was something that people valued

or pursued.

The only reason, arguably,

that diversity matters

to people today

is largely because

the Enlightenment stole the clothes

off Christianity's back.

How is it possible

to have such diversity

and yet still to have such unity?

Why did the infighting

that happened everywhere else

not happen in this early church?

How could they have such unity,

even among the leaders?

It's a very, very pressing question.

And the simple answer is,

because the gospel transforms

how we see ourselves

and how we see other people.

Paul in Galatians chapter 2,

Galatians 2:20

verse 20 says,

here's the impact

of the gospel on my life.

I have been crucified with Christ.

It's no longer I who live,

but Christ who lives in me.

What he means by that

is that Christ has become

a new foundation

for his entire identity.

Christianity.

The other things

that used to define us

before we became Christians,

things like our race,

our gender,

our culture,

our ethnicity,

our class,

our politics,

those things don't go away,

but they all take

a massive step back.

Right?

The new center of your life

becomes Christ.

Therefore,

when a Christian meets

another Christian,

even if you're from

very different places,

even if you have

nothing in common

culturally or politically,

even if you can barely

communicate across

a language barrier,

you discover a common

foundation in Christ,

and it makes relationships

possible across all kinds

of social and cultural barriers.

I remember experiencing this

for the first time.

It really struck me.

We, years ago,

we had a partnership

with a church in Rwanda,

and I went,

we went to Rwanda,

and I really wanted

to go and to meet

the pastor of this church

personally,

and so I traveled

out to Nagatari,

and he met me

and gave me a big hug,

and he could,

we could barely communicate.

I speak no Kenya Rwanda,

surprisingly,

and he speaks English enough,

but we,

through broken French

and English,

we were able to communicate

to a certain extent,

and the first thing

he wanted to do

was to tour me

around the village,

and so then he takes my hand,

and we start walking

around his village,

and we spend the next

maybe three,

four hours

just him telling me

about everybody

in the village,

right,

and we're holding hands

the entire time,

and I'm talking fingers

interlocking,

holding hands,

and I,

my wife will tell you,

I just don't like

to hold hands.

I don't,

I'm not a hand holder,

I'm,

I'm happy with hugs

and other things,

but hand holding

is just not in my,

you know,

that's not my vibe,

and so,

I'm walking around

with Pastor Deo

interlocking fingers,

hot and sweaty,

for like three or four hours,

right,

in this tour.

Here's the most amazing thing,

it felt completely normal

and natural.

After about five minutes,

I forgot we were even

doing that,

I just completely lost myself

in the experience

of seeing Nagatari

through Deo's eyes,

and the thing that really

struck me about that experience

is that here I am

with this man

on the other side

of the world,

we can barely communicate,

completely different culture,

ethnicity,

completely,

we could not be

more different,

right,

and yet this man

radiated Christ,

and some of you

have met him

and you know exactly

what I'm talking about,

and because of that,

I remember it striking me

as we're walking

down the sidewalk,

I feel like I have known

this man my whole life,

I feel like we grew up together,

and then it struck me,

I have,

I feel like I have

so much more in common

with this man

than I do with my own

biological family members

who are not Christians,

and I realized it's because

we have a common foundation,

we are family,

and that is the kind

of experience,

that is the kind

of experience

that you have,

that you can have

because of Christ,

when Christ gives you

a common foundation,

and this is how

the church in Antioch

was able to have

such unity and diversity

at the same time,

because on the one hand,

they're outward facing,

meaning they are focused

on sharing the gospel

across all social

and cultural barriers.

Everything they do

is oriented toward

bringing the gospel

to people outside

of their community,

and yet they are also

Christ-centered,

which made it possible

for them to have unity

across all of those barriers.

In fact, I think this is why

when Barnabas shows up,

it doesn't just say

he encouraged them

in a general sense,

he gives them

a very specific encouragement.

statement, stay true to Christ.

Keep your focus

on the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's his message.

And I think it's in part

because he shows up

and he sees all of this,

these diverse people,

and he's amazed,

and he thinks the only thing

holding this group together

is Christ.

Stay focused on Christ.

This is how it works.

And again, you know,

I think this is why.

I think they heard his message,

and this is why

this is the place

where followers of Jesus

first come to be known

as Christians.

Those people are so focused

on following Christ.

They're Christians.

They're little Christs.

They're Christ followers.

And this is a surprisingly

relevant corrective for us

as a church

in a place like D.C.

for a couple of reasons.

I mean, I think, honestly,

I think there can always

be a temptation

in the church

to turn inward.

Right?

There can always be

a temptation

to want church

to be safe,

to want it to be

comfortable and convenient.

If we feel overloaded

and overwhelmed

and we've got demanding jobs

or young children,

we want church

to be the one place

that feels safe,

comfortable.

We want it to be easy.

I do think, honestly,

this is ramped up

since COVID.

There's so much

happening out in the world.

I just want church

to be the one

comfortable, easy thing

in my life.

I think we begin

to lose sight

that the church

is in fact

a missionary outpost

that exists

to bring the gospel

to the city.

There's this,

along with that,

I think,

ever-present danger

on the other end

of the spectrum

where Christ

ceases to be

the center

of our common life.

You know,

everybody these days,

I think largely

because of the impact

of Christianity

on the modern West,

really wants diversity

and there's a lot of good

that comes with that.

But you see

some organizations

that make something

like diversity

into their central

highest ideal.

often what happens

in those cases

is that you may end up

with a community

with people who look different

but they all are exactly

the same politically.

It's not true diversity.

Antioch shows us

actually what is possible

when you have a church

that is truly outward-facing

and it's also Christ-centered

where everything they do

is aimed at bringing

the gospel to people

outside the church,

where people come

to worship

expecting and hoping

that they will run

into first-time visitors,

that there will be guests,

that there will be people there

who have no idea

what's going on,

who are completely disoriented,

who don't know

when to stand

or when to sit

or when to talk

or when to not talk

or when to respond

or when to not respond,

who think it's all weird.

And there are people

who come to church

knowing there's going

to be people like that

and they want to actively

engage those people

and help them

feel more comfortable.

Right?

So they're truly outward-facing

and yet they share

a common identity

in Christ

that runs deeper

than any other

defining characteristic.

So they have both

diversity and unity.

So, so far,

as we've looked at Antioch,

what are some of the things

that we might include

in God's vision

for His masterpiece,

the church in a place

like Antioch or D.C.?

So far,

everybody's involved,

lay-driven,

leader-led.

Also, they're outward-facing

but also Christ-centered

and so they can have

unity and diversity.

Lastly,

we see that this church

is both spiritually maturing

and socially engaged.

This is a young church

full of new converts.

Barnabas realizes

that they need to be encouraged

to grow into maturity.

So he goes

and he recruits Paul

and together

they spend the next year

preaching and teaching

in the church.

It's a kind of

spiritual boot camp.

And you can imagine

it wasn't just once a week.

They're probably doing this daily.

It's a spiritual boot camp.

The point is very clear here.

There is no substitute

for strong preaching

and teaching of God's Word.

There is no substitute

for people gathering together

and study Scripture.

There's no substitute

for classes and books

and other resources

that help us understand

the Bible and theology better.

You simply cannot grow

into maturity

if that is not a high,

central priority

in your common life.

God's Word has to be central.

And at the same time,

this is a very socially engaged church.

And that simply means

that they are aware of

and responsive to the needs

in the community around them,

in the broader world.

One of the other church leaders,

a prophet named Agabus,

raises awareness

about a coming famine.

He says,

this is going to be

a serious problem.

We need to prepare.

We need to make sure

the people around us,

our other churches,

are prepared

because there's going to be

a lot of people coming

who have a whole lot of need

and we need to be ready

to meet those needs.

And so he puts the Word out.

They gather together

as a church

and decide to send

financial assistance

back to the church

in Jerusalem.

Even though there's

persecution there,

they're like,

we got to get some help there.

And what's amazing here

is that everyone

gets what they can.

This is not just delegated

to the mercy ministry team.

This is not just

a few wealthier people

who have more disposable income.

This is not just people

with the spiritual gift

of generosity.

This is everyone.

Everyone gives what they can

according to their means.

And this kind of generous

social engagement

is a big part

of how the early church

had such an impact

on the Roman world.

It wasn't just

the preaching of the gospel,

although that was necessary.

It was the preaching

of the gospel

paired with

incredibly self-sacrificial

love and service

to the broader community.

The historian Rodney Stark

writes this.

He says,

Christianity revitalized life

in Greco-Roman cities

by providing new norms

and new kinds

of social relationships

able to cope

with many urgent urban problems.

What does that mean?

To cities filled

with the homeless

and the impoverished,

Christianity offered charity

as well as hope.

To cities filled

with newcomers

and strangers,

Christianity offered

an immediate basis

for attachments.

To cities filled

with orphans

and widows,

Christianity provided

a new and expanded

sense of family.

To cities torn

by violent ethnic strife,

Christianity offered

a new basis

for social solidarity.

We just talked about that.

And to cities faced

with epidemics,

fires,

and earthquakes,

Christianity offered

effective nursing services.

That is God's masterpiece.

That's what it's supposed

to look like.

As with our previous

two points,

this offers,

I believe,

a much-needed corrective

for the church today.

Unfortunately,

I think many churches

tend to emphasize

one or the other

of these two things.

You sometimes see churches

that emphasize

theological formation

and discipleship.

They have lots

of great programs

for their members,

but they're not

very involved

in meeting the needs

of the surrounding community.

Or you see churches

that do a lot of work

in the community,

but their discipleship

is very thin.

It's very shallow

because it's not a priority.

And the problem

in either case

is that you have

a very unbalanced view

of the Christian life.

The truth is

we need both.

We need the inward

spiritual growth

in our faith

into maturity.

But that,

the entire purpose

of that

is that it can express

itself

in the outward dimension

of the Christian life,

in the fruit that we bear,

in the way that we love

and serve our neighbors.

You need the inward

and the outward.

You need both.

It's a balance.

There's much more

we could say

about this amazing passage.

I want to bring this

together though.

This is what I believe

we are called to be

as a church

in a place like D.C.,

which is arguably

very similar to Antioch

in certain ways.

Arguably,

cities like D.C.

that have emerged now

in recent history

have much more in common

with a city like Antioch

than they do

with many of the cities

and places that people

have lived

in all of the

intervening centuries.

In terms of application

and relevance,

we are very, very, very close

to many of the realities

that this first urban church faced.

But I believe

that the qualities

that made that church effective

are the same qualities

that we need

in our community.

My desire,

our desire,

is that we would be

lay-led

and leader-supported.

Where the leaders

are here to support

and equip people

to serve.

And where the biggest problem

we have

is that our ministries

have to turn people away

because we have

too many volunteers.

Stop calling me

and ask if you can volunteer.

We have no more room for you.

Find another way to serve.

Where we are outward-facing

and Christ-centered.

Where we all share

a common identity

in Christ.

and yet where

if this is the first time

you have ever darkened

the door of a church,

you already know

even though there's a lot here

that I don't understand,

I have been so warmly welcomed

by so many people

that I feel like

this is a place

I could belong

and be for the rest of my life.

And I would love

to figure out

all this other stuff.

That we are called

to be a church

that is spiritually maturing

and socially engaged.

Where we do have

strong preaching

and teaching

and small groups

and classes

and Bible studies.

And yet we are so invested

in the surrounding community

that even if people

disagree with our beliefs,

they feel loved

and cared for

by our community.

Let's pray.

Lord,

may we never forget

that all of this

is a result of your work

and your ministry

and your presence.

There would not be

a church in Antioch

had your Holy Spirit

not empowered

the faithfulness

and obedience

of your people.

And the same is true for us.

The only reason

we are even here

is as a result

of your goodness

and your blessing

and the presence

and power

of your Holy Spirit

in our midst.

So we pray now

that what would be

impossible for us

would be made possible

through you.

That through your Holy Spirit

you would restore

that which is broken in us.

Those gashes

that may have been torn

in the fabric

of the canvas

of our community.

And that you would restore

your vision

for your masterpiece

not only in our church

but in churches

all throughout this city.

That your manifold wisdom

would be put on display.

That the truth

and the power

of your gospel

would be made

irresistibly compelling

through the common witness

of the church

the body of Christ.

And it's in his name

that we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.