In Western society it’s difficult to do life together, but it does happen, it can be sustained and it can be life-changing. I pray these stories encourage you to keep meeting, keep searching and start gathering. This story is told by Chris Jefferies. Check out his link for a free download of his book.
I’m Chris Jefferies, I grew up in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England, UK, a small town (about 20-21 thousand people). We don’t call that a city here, it’s an ancient town, founded in Roman times in 75 AD. I studied horticulture at Bath University and worked at a research station just outside Bristol on pollination and fertilisation of fruit crops including apple, pear, gooseberry, but mainly plum. I married my first wife, Judy in 1970; we became close friends during our final months at school. Judy developed bowel cancer in the 1990s and died in December 1995 when one daughter was at university and the other one finishing at school.
I think I first experienced Father’s presence as a deep voice like thunder when I was just outside my junior school, aged perhaps 7. It seemed very significant at the time. There were no words, but there was a powerful presence and I knew it was real, significant, and the voice of the Most High – as if I was being given an important job. I did not experience the Son, Jesus, until much later, when I was about 19 or 20. I’d begun a kind of searching. I was confirmed as an Anglican when I was 14 though that had meant nothing to me. I went through the process because that’s what my parents expected.
The time of searching continued after Judy and I married and we discovered the Plymouth Brethren in Bristol with their ‘Open Meetings’ where any adult male could help lead the meeting in a cooperative effort that reflected what I’d read in Acts and in Paul’s letters.
We moved to Yatton, a village near Bristol, where we took out a mortgage and bought our first home. And it was here that I was introduced to the Holy Spirit in a real way.
Judy and I began meeting with friends from very different backgrounds – Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, you name it. The thing that bound us together was the ongoing move of the Spirit. This began in 1975 after the birth of our first daughter. Organic meetings have come and gone from that time on, but they’ve always been what I’m most comfortable with. No rules apart from the rule of love amongst his people! HalleluYah! There were many challenges, described in this series of posts.
I’d say the biggest changes have been recognising more and more clearly that the way things were done in the early church works really well, while none of the human-managed approaches have worked out effectively. At present I’m part of a Baptist Small Group; I don’t attend the Sunday services, just the home group. I’ve tried for 8 or 9 years to explain the difference between a friendly Bible study and a family/community, but I seem not to be getting the message across fully. They value my contributions and are happy for me to take them off-piste from time to time, but they’re chained to the system apart from these infrequent excursions. My daughters have not benefitted much from the meetings we had while they were growing up. Debbie is open to talking about spiritual things, Beth (3 years younger) is a firm atheist as is her husband (who has a degree in theology!).
I’d point people to look carefully at the great commission in Matthew 28, and to read Ephesians 4 several times. And I’d say that struggling with a group (unless you feel called to do so) is likely to be ineffective and frustrating. Starting a group? Anyone can do this, especially if they already have like-minded friends and/or family. Keep reading the gospels, keep reading Acts, keep reading the letters. I’d remind people that we all have the APEST gifts (I call these the gifts of service). But we don’t have them all to the same degree, that’s why groups are important, in part. What I lack will be someone else’s strength and vice versa. We serve one another. If you feel you should start a group, if Jesus is calling you to do so, just make a start and see how it goes. For more I’d point people to my short book, JDMC.
The group Jesus started on the shore of Galilee, lasted only 3 years. Lasting is not a bad thing, but neither is it a necessary thing. I wonder how long Corinth lasted? We don’t know. Lasting too long can be a problem; maybe it’s a sign we need to be doing more planting. The body of Christ has existed in one form or another for nearly 2000 years. But that has been achieved by reproduction. It’s how life itself continues, many, many new beginnings, as long as births exceed deaths life will grow and extend. Same with meetings. What we need to avoid are bad endings where brothers and sisters fall out over various issues. The group may end or divide (another form of multiplication) but everyone should remain on good terms and continue loving one another. Groups should never get too large. Ten to fifteen people is good, but the dynamics change as the numbers increase.
This is so important. Jesus is the person who ultimately organises the group (I will build my church.) Jesus expresses himself as leader, guide, facilitator through the distributed gifts of service (APEST again). We all serve one another, Jesus decides how to hand out those gifts.
You can check out Chris Jefferies blog here. Download a free pdf copy of Jesus, Disciple, Mission, Church here.
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