EXTRA! Ideas for Adults – Being an Authentic Church – Session 5

2 weeks ago 29

Date: May 12, 2024

Serving in Christ

The Point: We are to minister to one another and alongside one another.

Get Into the Study

Share the following after discussing the opening question.

An emotional musical performance changed David Regner’s career path. He was teaching music in New York state when he attended a concert by the U.S. Army’s West Point Band. “It was truly the first time I felt the audience was infused with patriotism,” Regner said. “I loved being a teacher, but I felt the need to join.” So he joined the Air Force as a musician. Today he is a captain and conducts the U.S. Air Force Band, a 60-member concert band whose mission includes inspiring patriotism. Music’s power to inspire becomes evident when the band plays “God Bless America.”

“We get to the end of ‘God Bless America,’” said Regner, “and the audience is on their feet and singing along; it’s really powerful looking out from the stage. Everyone that comes doesn’t have the same ideas or lifestyle, but in this moment they are all united with pride.”

On one occasion, the band helped unite and inspire Afghani refugee. The Singing Sergeants, an Air Force choir that performs with the band, learned some Afghani songs for a Middle East deployment and sang them to evacuees from Afghanistan. “The entire audience, who had been through so much turmoil, pain, and suffering sang along,” Regner said. “The visceral connection was one of the most powerful things—it was very impactful.”

As with a concert band, when people in the church with diverse gifts work together in harmony, the result is a profound expression of the composer’s design.

https://www.yourclassical.org/story/2024/04/01/us-air-force-band-brings-inspiration-to-upper-midwest-tour

Get Into the Study [Option from Adult Leader Guide]

In advance, play a video clip of a moving musical experience. Then ask Question #1.

Study the Bible

As you discuss question 3 (point 2 on p. 117 of the Daily Discipleship Guide), share the following.

As churches celebrate high school and college graduates this spring, some congregations are departing from tradition. Instead of holding graduate recognition, they are turning the focus to graduate commissioning. “Commissioning is the opposite of graduating,” said Scooter Kellum, a student ministry leader with the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana. “It is not a sign of completion. It is the very essence of sending for a purpose or calling. We should be sending out our 18-year-olds from our youth ministries into the mission field wherever that may be with the purpose of living out their faith, leading others to Christ, and teaching and training up others for the sake of the kingdom.”

Churches vary in the ways they equip and send graduates. At First Baptist Church in Kerrville, Texas, the focus on each graduate includes their testimony, a recounting of their ministry service, and a statement of where God is sending them next. At Northport Baptist Church near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, graduates don’t wear their caps and gowns to be recognized. That helps shift the focus from what’s behind them to what’s ahead. “We want it to be more about their next steps,” Northport student pastor Daniel Buckhannan said.

Not only with graduates, but in every area of church life, a faithful congregation equips and deploys its members. It doesn’t settle for merely celebrating the past.

https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/on-graduate-sunday-consider-looking-forward-say-leaders/

The week’s writer for Extra is David Roach. David is pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Saraland, Alabama. He and his wife Erin have three children.

Additional Questions

Icebreaker

Who’s a group or team known for working well together?
When have you been mistaken for another person?
What is your favorite team sport? Why?
What are some musical pieces you’ve heard that have really been done well?

Ephesians 4:1-7

How does it benefit the church to have various gifts being used in ministry?
What does a unified church look like?
How can a church have a variety of ministries yet remain unified?
Why is it important for nonbelievers to see a united and loving church?
What is your initial reaction to the exhortation to walk worthy of our calling?
Where do you see evidence that our culture places a low value on unity?
What are some obstacles to unity within the church?
How can we navigate the tension between loving God’s church and dealing with its imperfection?

Ephesians 4:11-13

How have other people’s gifts prepared you for greater ministry to others?
In what ways could it be comforting to know that our gifts come from Christ (v. 11) and not from ourselves?
What are the characteristics of a strong and mature church?
What can we learn from these verses about the purpose of ministry in the local church?
What are some ways you have been “equipped” for God’s work?
When have you seen a church equip their people well?

Ephesians 4:14-16

How can churches emphasize the importance of every believer using his or her gift for ministry?
How would you explain the relationship between spiritual maturity and ministry?
Why is the human body a good analogy for the church’s use of spiritual gifts?
When has someone speaking the truth in love helped you mature as a Christian?
How does a believer speak the truth in love?
How can we help each other grow in Christ?
How would you contrast those who are spiritually mature and those who are not?