Participants:
Series Code: PME
Program Code: PME250510S
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00:12 ♪ 00:20 >> Happy Sabbath, everyone. 00:22 >> Happy Sabbath. 00:23 >> I'm going to teach you 00:24 a new song today. 00:25 It's a church that talks about 00:28 what we are and what we do. 00:30 We're going to sing it. 00:32 We're going to sing the first 00:32 verse first, and then 00:34 you will repeat with us. 00:35 Okay? 00:38 Can we clap? 00:40 [ Rhythmic clapping ] 09:42 >> We would like to invite you 09:44 to experience the event 09:45 described in this piece 09:46 we are about to sing, 09:47 "Crown Him" by Dan Forrest, 09:49 in a very personal way today. 09:52 Imagine, if you will, 09:53 that it is the very end of time. 09:56 You are in an isolated place 09:57 because now 09:58 no other place is safe. 09:59 You are outside 10:01 and you hear something distant, 10:04 rhythmic, not a natural sound. 10:07 You strain to listen, 10:08 to identify the source, 10:09 and you hear music. 10:12 Trumpets. 10:14 Then voices, faint, 10:15 but you catch a word -- 10:16 "Alleluia." 10:18 Then more voices, 10:19 deeper, stronger. 10:20 More words -- 10:21 "Crown Him with many crowns, 10:24 the Lamb upon His throne." 10:26 Hope leaps to life within you. 10:28 You realize the sound 10:29 is coming from above you. 10:31 You scan the sky. 10:32 And there it is -- 10:34 a little cloud, 10:35 like a man's hand, 10:36 the sign of the Son of Man. 10:39 You watch in wonder 10:40 as the cloud grows bigger 10:41 and brighter, 10:42 the music stronger, 10:43 until the sky is full 10:45 of beating angel wings 10:46 and the music swells 10:47 to thunderous praise. 10:49 In the midst of it all, 10:50 your gaze is fixed on one face 10:53 and your heart nearly bursts 10:55 within you because He is here, 10:58 this Lord you have loved 10:59 and who has so loved you. 11:01 He is finally here, 11:03 and we are going home. 11:05 "Crown Him." 11:24 ♪ 11:34 ♪ 11:44 ♪ 11:48 >> ♪ Alleluia 11:54 >> ♪ Crown Him with many 11:56 crowns ♪ 11:58 ♪ The Lamb upon His throne 12:03 ♪ Hark, how the heavenly anthem 12:08 drowns ♪ 12:09 ♪ All music but its own 12:14 ♪ Awake, my soul, and sing 12:19 ♪ Of Him who died for thee 12:24 ♪ And hail Him as thy 12:28 matchless King ♪ 12:30 ♪ Through all eternity 12:33 >> ♪ Alleluia 12:36 >> ♪ Alleluia 12:38 ♪ Alleluia 12:41 >> ♪ Crown Him the Lord 12:43 of love ♪ 12:46 ♪ Behold His hands and side 12:51 ♪ Rich wounds, yet visible 12:54 above ♪ 12:56 ♪ In beauty glorified 13:01 ♪ No angel in the sky 13:06 ♪ Can fully bear that sight 13:11 ♪ But downward bends 13:14 his wondering eye ♪ 13:17 ♪ At mysteries so bright 13:20 >> ♪ Alleluia 13:23 ♪ Alleluia 13:25 > ♪ Alleluia 13:28 ♪ Alleluia 13:36 ♪ Crown Him the Lord of life 13:41 ♪ Who triumphed o'er the grave 13:46 ♪ Who rose victorious 13:49 in the strife ♪ 13:52 ♪ For those He came to save 13:57 ♪ His glories now we sing 14:02 ♪ Who died and rose on high 14:07 ♪ Who died, eternal life 14:11 to bring ♪ 14:13 ♪ And lives that death may die 14:17 ♪ Alleluia 14:18 ♪ Alleluia 14:21 ♪ Alleluia 14:24 ♪ Alleluia 14:28 ♪ Alleluia 14:30 ♪ Alleluia 14:34 ♪ Alleluia 14:44 ♪ 14:49 ♪ Crown Him the Lord of heaven 14:54 ♪ One with the Father known 14:59 ♪ One with the Spirit through 15:03 Him given ♪ 15:05 ♪ From yonder glorious throne 15:10 ♪ To Thee be endless praise 15:15 ♪ For Thou for us hast died 15:20 ♪ Be Thou, O Lord, through 15:24 endless days ♪ 15:27 ♪ Adored and magnified 15:32 ♪ Alleluia 15:36 ♪ Alleluia 15:39 ♪ Alleluia 15:42 ♪ 15:48 ♪ Alleluia 15:58 [ Applause ] 16:06 >> Welcome to Part 6. 16:09 Can you believe it? 16:10 Part 6. 16:10 It's only taken us four months, 16:11 five months, I guess, 16:12 to get to Part 6 16:14 of our continuing series 16:15 entitled "ChurchWorks." 16:16 The premise of the series 16:17 is, what does it look like 16:19 for the work of sharing 16:20 Jesus Christ in 16:21 the context of the three angels' 16:22 messages with the world? 16:24 How do you finish? 16:25 How do you finish the work? 16:27 And the premise 16:29 is that it's finished 16:30 with a church that works, 16:32 thus the title of the series. 16:34 We have been looking at a number 16:35 of things 16:35 over these many months, 16:36 and today 16:37 we are going to resolve 16:39 a cliffhanger that I 16:41 cruelly left you with again 16:42 two weeks ago in Part 5. 16:44 If you weren't here for Part 5, 16:45 let me briefly tell you 16:47 where we went in Part 5. 16:49 In Part 5, we began to look 16:51 all the way back at 16:51 the beginning. 16:53 The fact that we are made 16:54 in the image of God 16:56 took a great bit of our time, 16:58 and we learned that, 16:58 among other things, 16:59 to be made in the image 17:00 of God means 17:01 that we are made for community. 17:03 God has community within Himself 17:04 via the Trinity, 17:05 and to be made in His image 17:06 means that we are made for 17:07 community with God 17:09 and with other believers. 17:10 In other words, 17:11 to be in community is to, 17:13 in a very real sense, 17:14 fulfill your purpose for being. 17:17 We also looked at what it means 17:19 to have genuine 17:20 Christian community. 17:22 We looked at the New Testament 17:23 church, and how astonishing it 17:25 was that right there after 17:26 Pentecost, the Holy Spirit 17:28 falls, 3,000-plus people 17:29 are baptized. 17:30 It was astonishing to people 17:32 to look and see people 17:33 from all over the world, 17:34 different cultures, backgrounds, 17:36 demographics, wealth, status, 17:37 all of these things 17:39 that would have divided 17:40 people elsewhere, in the church 17:41 in Jerusalem, 17:42 that first Christian church, 17:43 everyone was 17:44 unified in Jesus Christ. 17:45 It was astonishing to see 17:47 that kind of unity. 17:49 We looked at the characteristics 17:50 of genuine Christian community. 17:52 We said it has 17:53 Christ at its center -- 17:54 nothing, no one else. 17:55 Jesus is at its center. 17:57 It is where members 17:58 sacrificially care for one 18:00 another, as Jesus would 18:01 if He were there in their place. 18:02 It's where members thrive 18:03 through appropriate 18:04 accountability. 18:05 We talked about accountability, 18:06 90% of which is encouragement. 18:08 And lastly, we said true, 18:10 genuine Christian 18:10 community is to be home. 18:12 It's to be a foretaste 18:13 of what is to come into heaven. 18:15 Someone say "Amen." 18:17 Yes, this is what 18:18 we are called to, tremendously, 18:20 which brings us squarely 18:21 to today, Part 6, 18:24 where we're going to begin by 18:25 answering an important question. 18:27 How did the New Testament church 18:28 do this? 18:30 How did the New Testament 18:31 church -- I mean, 18:32 just to be very practical, 18:34 what methods did they use 18:36 so that the Holy Spirit 18:37 could work in such a way 18:38 that this was the kind of 18:40 community that they experienced? 18:43 Well, I'll tell you. 18:44 The answer is simple. 18:45 The early Christian church 18:46 achieved this kind of community 18:48 by thinking small. 18:52 Turn in your Bibles, please, 18:54 to Acts 2:44. 18:57 Acts 2:44. 18:58 It's on page 734 19:00 in the red pew Bible 19:01 somewhere nearby 19:02 where you're at -- page 734. 19:04 Acts chapter 2, 19:05 beginning with verse 44. 19:06 We have been in this segment 19:08 of Scripture many times, 19:09 and for good reason. 19:10 This section, verse 42 to 47, 19:13 is the quintessential 19:14 synopsis of so many 19:17 of the golden attributes 19:18 that Jesus imbued His church 19:20 with, including here, 19:21 beginning with verse 44. 19:23 My Bible, it says this -- 19:24 "All the believers were together 19:25 and had everything in common. 19:27 Selling their possessions 19:28 and goods, they gave 19:28 to anyone as he had need. 19:30 Every day they continued 19:32 to meet together 19:32 in the temple courts. 19:34 They broke bread in their homes 19:36 and ate together with glad 19:37 and sincere hearts, 19:38 praising God 19:39 and enjoying the favor 19:40 of all the people. 19:41 And the Lord added to 19:42 their number daily those 19:44 who were being saved." 19:46 Now, been there many times. 19:48 Let's focus on something 19:49 different this time. 19:51 Where did the New Testament 19:53 Christian church meet? 19:55 Okay, the first place 19:56 that they met in this -- 19:57 in this verse was where? 19:59 Temple courts, yes, okay. 20:00 How big was that? 20:01 Alright, big. 20:02 There's a lot of square footage 20:03 up there in the Temple Mount, 20:04 right? 20:05 In other words, 20:06 the first meeting of 20:08 the Christian church was large. 20:09 It was large by any estimation, 20:10 3,000-plus people 20:12 They met there in 20:12 this large group. 20:13 And it says they broke 20:15 bread in their homes. 20:18 Now, breaking bread, 20:18 you know, scholars debate, 20:19 is that just talking 20:20 about, you know, 20:21 having a bite to eat together? 20:22 Is it the Lord's Supper? 20:23 Could be both, right? 20:25 Whatever the case is, 20:25 there were two 20:26 distinct locations 20:28 at which the church met -- 20:31 in the big group at the temple, 20:32 in the small group 20:33 in people's houses. 20:35 So we must ask, what was that, 20:36 just like a happenstance type 20:38 of thing, or was there 20:39 a trend that developed? 20:40 Well, let's do 20:40 a little journey here. 20:41 Acts 12:12. 20:44 Peter is put into jail. 20:45 He's miraculously set free. 20:47 As he's walking down the street 20:48 after being miraculously set 20:50 free, he suddenly realizes 20:51 what's just happened to him. 20:52 He thought it was a dream. 20:53 It turns out it's reality. 20:54 Verse 12... 21:04 Now, let's be careful. 21:05 Let's not make too much of this. 21:07 This, at the very least, 21:08 is saying that in times 21:10 of difficulty, 21:11 the church was not meeting 21:12 in the temple courts. 21:13 They were instead here 21:14 in a local house, 21:16 perhaps for cover. 21:17 I mean, the temple's 21:18 pretty public, right? 21:18 If people are getting arrested, 21:19 may not be so good to be there, 21:21 but they are at a house, 21:22 a smaller group gathering, 21:23 undoubtedly 21:24 because no one back then had 21:26 houses with living rooms 21:27 that seated 3,000 people. 21:28 So we know it's 21:29 a smaller gathering. 21:30 Let's proceed on here. 21:31 Acts 16:40, "After Paul and 21:34 Silas came out of the prison, 21:35 they went to Lydia's..." 21:36 What's the next word? 21:38 "House." There it is again. 21:38 Okay. 21:39 ..."house, where they met with 21:40 the brothers and sisters 21:42 and encouraged them." 21:43 The implication here 21:44 is getting deeper. 21:45 It appears 21:46 that there were a number 21:47 of meetings 21:48 in the early Christian church 21:49 at people's houses 21:51 with smaller groups. 21:54 Some years later, 21:55 many years later, in fact, 21:56 Paul here writing 21:57 to the church plant 21:58 in Rome, at the very end 21:59 of the book, has this to say. 22:00 Romans 16:3-5. 22:02 Paul says... 22:15 Now, that's getting 22:16 pretty specific, isn't it? 22:17 It is specifically referred 22:19 to as "the church." 22:20 The church meets 22:22 in someone's house. 22:24 Now, how big the house was, 22:25 how big the group was, 22:25 we don't know. 22:26 But obviously it must have been 22:27 a smaller group than what 22:29 there had been gathered 22:30 years ago, 22:30 years earlier in Jerusalem. 22:32 The church is often meeting now 22:34 in people's houses. 22:36 Colossians chapter four. 22:38 And I believe that should 22:38 actually be verse 15... 22:45 Okay, there it is again. 22:46 How about this? 22:47 Philemon verses one and two... 23:01 Now, if we take this 23:02 and combine it with evidence 23:03 that we have from outside 23:04 of the Scriptures, archaeology, 23:05 et cetera, it becomes quite 23:06 clear. 23:07 There were 23:08 two gatherings of the church. 23:10 There were the larger gatherings 23:11 when they could, 23:12 when the law would allow it, 23:13 when persecution would -- 23:14 wasn't stopping it. 23:16 And most of the time, 23:18 they met in smaller groups 23:19 in people's houses. 23:22 And if we take this 23:23 and some good old common sense, 23:25 we can begin to come 23:26 to some conclusions as 23:27 to its significance for today. 23:29 Large group gatherings 23:33 have always been a crucial part 23:34 of the lives of God's people. 23:35 I know there are some people 23:36 who say, "No, no, no. 23:37 Everything was 23:37 always small groups." 23:38 I don't think 23:38 you can support that. 23:39 I think there were some 23:40 very significant 23:41 large group gatherings. 23:42 We do large group gatherings 23:43 pretty well here. 23:45 I think this qualifies 23:46 as a large group. 23:47 Two or three are gathered here, 23:48 I think, right? 23:49 And we do this well. 23:50 We sing praises. 23:51 I mean, you heard some 23:52 really good music this morning, 23:53 lifting our hearts to heaven. 23:55 Large group gatherings can be 23:56 inspiring 23:58 and draw us closer to the Lord. 23:59 There's good things 23:59 that happen there. 24:01 However... 24:02 However, we must be honest 24:05 and also admit that 24:06 large gatherings have some 24:08 real limitations to them. 24:09 For instance, 24:10 let's compare the two together, 24:11 large and small 24:11 group gatherings. 24:12 Large gatherings are often 24:14 expensive to accommodate. 24:16 Anybody want to argue 24:17 that -- against that? 24:19 This building, for instance, 24:20 it needs some pipes. 24:21 It's going to cost us 24:22 a little coin 24:23 to make that happen, right? 24:24 It can be expensive to have 24:25 large gatherings, 24:27 but small groups are usually 24:28 far cheaper, okay, 24:30 unless you're serving caviar 24:31 and champagne, in which case 24:32 you shouldn't be doing that, 24:32 okay? 24:34 That's expensive, right? 24:35 But in small groups, 24:35 most of the time, 24:36 it's far less expensive meeting 24:39 in a small group. 24:40 No special building is required. 24:41 You can do it in your dorm room, 24:42 your living room. 24:44 Large gatherings, 24:45 furthermore, are not only 24:46 expensive, but they are 24:47 thoroughly complex to host. 24:50 Now, silly question, 24:51 given the environment 24:52 that we are in here at Pioneer, 24:53 how many of you have ever been 24:54 on the planning committee 24:55 for a large group gathering? 24:58 Okay, there's all kinds of you. 25:00 If the group is large enough, 25:01 if you're into the hundreds 25:02 or thousands, 25:03 it can literally take years 25:05 to work through the logistics, 25:06 getting ready for that event, 25:06 right? 25:08 But almost anyone can plan 25:10 a small group event. 25:11 They're far simpler. 25:12 They require relatively 25:13 little preparation. 25:14 Anyone can prepare 25:15 a small gathering place 25:17 for a few people to gather. 25:18 And as far 25:19 as personal participation 25:20 is concerned, 25:21 large groups 25:22 can be intimidating like this. 25:24 I mean, there's very few people 25:25 that want my job. 25:27 I mean, one of the number-one 25:28 fears that comes up regularly 25:30 on surveys, 25:31 at least for Americans, 25:32 is fear of speaking publicly. 25:34 Right, nobody wants to do that. 25:35 But in a small group, 25:37 people are much more 25:38 likely to speak up. 25:41 And how about this? 25:43 Conversation. 25:45 How easy is it for, say, 25:46 a thousand people 25:47 to engage 25:48 in personal conversation 25:49 with everybody being involved? 25:51 It can't happen. 25:53 It's just not going to happen. 25:54 We're not wired 25:55 this way as human beings. 25:56 Maybe in heaven, when our brains 25:57 are finally using all 25:58 the gray matter 25:59 that's up there, we will. 26:00 But not here. 26:01 It's impossible to do that, 26:02 but in a small group -- 26:04 And this is extremely important. 26:05 In a small group, 26:07 conversation 26:08 can happen in real time. 26:11 And that means 26:12 that discipleship to maturity 26:15 can take place much better 26:17 in the smaller group 26:18 than it can the larger one. 26:20 This is really important 26:22 because sometimes I think -- 26:23 I don't know if anybody would 26:24 ever just come out and say this, 26:25 but there's a default that says, 26:26 "You know what? 26:27 If I go to church, I'm going to 26:28 become a mature Christian. 26:30 If I sit 26:31 and listen to the preacher, 26:32 I'm going to become 26:33 a mature Christian." 26:34 I'm just going to tell you, 26:35 30 years pastoral experience, 26:36 that's not true. 26:37 That's not true. 26:39 It takes more than that. 26:41 It takes also Christian with 26:44 Christian speaking to one 26:45 another. 26:46 And small groups excel at this. 26:48 You can hear someone else's 26:49 experience in real time there. 26:51 You can ask questions about it. 26:52 In a sermon time, 26:53 if you ask a question, 26:54 we all get a little nervous. 26:56 Right, if somebody shouts out, 26:57 "Oh, Pastor, what about --" 26:58 Well, okay, hold on. 26:59 You know, we're 27:00 not quite equipped for that. 27:01 You know, deacons begin 27:02 to converge. 27:02 I mean, it's 27:03 an interesting dynamic, right? 27:05 Big groups don't facilitate 27:07 this, but small ones do. 27:10 And pity the baby Christian 27:12 who only gets large gatherings. 27:16 It's going to be tough 27:17 for them to grow to maturity. 27:18 It's going to be tough. 27:20 But in a small group, 27:21 they can do it. 27:24 No wonder, then, 27:26 that the early Christian church 27:27 strongly and consistently 27:29 included group gatherings, 27:30 small group gatherings 27:31 as a major pathway 27:32 for discipleship. 27:34 And no wonder that early 27:35 Adventism did the same thing, 27:37 which means, at last, 27:38 I'm ready to answer the question 27:40 that I left 27:40 you on a cliff hanging off 27:41 of there in Part 5. 27:43 The question was this... 27:50 Remember, settled pastors is 27:52 what we generally have 27:53 in Christendom today, a pastor 27:54 that stays, 27:55 he or she, three to seven years, 27:56 usually, at most churches 27:57 and then moves on. 27:58 They're the primary caregiver, 27:59 primary speaker, primary 28:01 this, that, and the other. 28:01 And then they move on 28:02 and do it again 28:02 in some other place. 28:03 The New Testament 28:04 has none of that. 28:05 The early Adventist Church, 28:06 for the first 67 years, 28:08 did not have settled pastors, 28:09 except in a handful 28:10 of very small situations. 28:12 How did they still, 28:15 by the grace of God 28:16 and hard work, 28:16 manage to become 28:17 the fastest-growing 28:18 Protestant movement 28:19 that the world had ever seen? 28:22 I mean, we look back 28:23 by today's standards 28:24 and we shake our heads and say, 28:25 "Well, that must be impossible." 28:26 And yet it happened. 28:27 How did they manage to 28:30 not merely survive, but thrive? 28:33 And the answer is that 28:36 they started thinking small. 28:41 They thought large -- "We're 28:42 a worldwide movement 28:43 with a worldwide calling 28:44 to share Jesus Christ 28:44 with the world 28:45 and the three angels' messages." 28:46 And they began 28:47 by thinking small, as well. 28:50 The early Adventist Church, 28:51 using the New Testament 28:52 and a knowledge of 28:53 how God had led 28:54 in other movements in the past, 28:55 utilized a simple, 28:56 time-proven method 28:57 to create genuine 28:58 Christian community 29:00 that had the characteristics 29:01 that we talked about in Part 5. 29:03 Let me just remind 29:04 you what those were. 29:05 Early Adventist community was 29:07 where Christ's presence was 29:08 most fully revealed. 29:09 It was how evangelism happened 29:11 best, and it was 29:12 where maturity in Christ 29:13 developed best. 29:15 The presence of Christ, 29:16 evangelism, 29:17 discipleship, community. 29:19 They found a simple method 29:21 to make it happen, 29:21 and it was called 29:23 the social meeting. 29:26 How many of you know what 29:27 the social meeting was 29:28 in the early Adventist Church? 29:31 Wow. Alright. 29:33 That's even less 29:34 than first service. 29:34 And I think there's three times 29:35 as many people here, right? 29:37 It's not your fault. 29:37 We didn't tell you. 29:38 Okay? 29:40 The social meeting was 29:41 a meeting -- 29:42 Don't think birthday party. 29:43 Don't think vege-cue. 29:44 I mean, this is not 29:45 like a social gathering 29:47 by today's standards, okay? 29:48 The social meeting was 29:49 a technical term 29:51 used to describe a specific form 29:53 of meeting that was, 29:54 quite simply, 29:55 the most important meeting 29:57 that any local 29:58 Adventist Church had. 29:59 And they had it regularly. 30:00 Remember, no settled 30:01 pastors in those days. 30:02 So they probably didn't have 30:03 a sermon most of the time. 30:05 But they always, 30:06 always had a social meeting. 30:08 And I can tell by 30:09 the blank looks on your face, 30:10 I need to start 30:11 filling in that blank. 30:12 Let me tell you 30:13 a little bit here of what 30:14 those meetings were like. 30:16 Let's go to Adventist history 30:17 here. 30:18 "Testimonies" volume two, 30:19 page 578, 30:20 in the chapter 30:21 entitled "Social Meetings." 30:22 So if you're looking 30:23 to do some research, 30:23 great place to start. 30:25 She says, "We meet together to 30:27 edify one another by an 30:28 interchange of thoughts and 30:30 feelings, to gather strength, 30:31 and light, and courage 30:33 by becoming acquainted 30:34 with one another's 30:35 hopes and aspirations." 30:36 Pause right there. 30:37 Does that sound good? 30:39 Yeah, that's a good thing. 30:41 You remember we took the survey 30:42 here a number of weeks ago 30:43 at the More conference, 30:44 and one of the big things 30:45 that came out was that we need 30:46 more of this, okay? 30:47 And here she said, 30:48 "Well, this is what it does. 30:50 We meet together. 30:51 The social meeting, 30:51 we meet together to edify 30:53 one another by an interchange 30:54 of thoughts and feelings." 30:55 So it's not a Sabbath school 30:56 class. 30:57 It's not a Bible study. 30:58 People may use the Bible 30:59 occasionally, but this is 31:00 about applying the Word 31:02 in real life, 31:03 not about studying it. 31:04 There's other times for that. 31:06 "To gather strength, and light, 31:07 and courage 31:08 by becoming acquainted 31:09 with one another's hopes and 31:10 aspirations; and by our 31:12 earnest, heartfelt prayers, 31:13 offered up in faith, 31:15 we receive refreshments and 31:16 vigor from the Source --" 31:17 capital "S" -- "of our strength. 31:19 These meetings should be 31:20 most precious seasons 31:21 and should be made interesting 31:22 to all who have any relish 31:24 for religious things." 31:26 Now, that's great. 31:27 That is excellent. 31:28 I mean, if you told somebody, 31:31 "Hey, I'm a part of a group 31:32 where we know each other's 31:33 hopes and dreams, 31:34 we share regularly about what 31:36 the Lord is doing in our lives. 31:38 When I get discouraged, 31:38 they lift me up. 31:39 When they get discouraged, 31:40 I lift them up. 31:41 We pray for one another. 31:42 We are this Christian community 31:44 in which I find my anchor 31:46 deeply rooted in Jesus Christ. 31:48 I'm learning each week 31:49 to know Him better." 31:50 Don't you think that 31:51 would be a good thing? 31:53 Yeah, that's an awesome thing. 31:55 Uriah Smith, 31:56 another early Adventist pioneer. 31:57 He said... 32:12 Now, be careful here. 32:14 If I say, "Hey, 32:15 we're going to have a testimony 32:16 service this afternoon," 32:17 some of you 32:18 will find something else 32:19 to do quickly, 32:22 because sometimes 32:23 when we think of a testimony 32:24 service, some of you 32:25 may have positive associations. 32:26 Many people don't 32:26 because they think about 32:27 people standing for 20 minutes 32:29 and going through 32:29 various maladies 32:30 that they're experiencing 32:31 at the moment. 32:32 And they go on and on and on, 32:33 and then maybe somebody else 32:34 has a chance to share, 32:35 and then you're done. 32:35 That's not what 32:36 the social meeting was about. 32:38 The social meeting was 32:40 a fairly crisp, 32:41 fast-moving thing. 32:43 Testimonies, maybe two to three 32:44 minutes per person. 32:45 You might be able to share 32:46 again, okay, during the 32:47 social meeting. 32:48 In fact, you were encouraged to 32:49 if there was time. 32:50 But these were things 32:51 where people shared, uh, 32:53 in a brief way, 32:55 things that were real, 32:57 that were going on right now. 32:58 In fact, 32:59 the spirit of prophecy 33:00 is quite clear 33:01 that people were to prepare 33:03 for the social meeting. 33:05 In other words, 33:06 they were to be thinking 33:07 throughout the week, 33:07 "What is it that I need to share 33:09 so that I will be 33:10 appropriately accountable 33:11 to the body of Christ? 33:13 What do I need to share 33:14 that will be an encouragement 33:16 to my brothers and sisters 33:17 that are also part 33:18 of this social meeting? 33:19 What is it that I need to 33:20 be listening for through 33:22 the testimony of other people 33:23 in that group 33:24 so that I can be built up 33:25 in my faith in Jesus Christ?" 33:27 Preparation was required. 33:28 This is not just off-the-cuff 33:29 kind of stuff. 33:30 And so the social meeting, 33:31 it was fast-paced. 33:33 It was something 33:34 which everybody had a chance 33:36 to be able to share, 33:37 if the group was small enough, 33:39 and the ability 33:40 to be able to discern 33:41 the fingerprints of Jesus Christ 33:43 in those people's lives. 33:44 That was the order of the day -- 33:46 Christianity lived 33:47 out in real life. 33:50 Now, the social meeting was 33:51 something that was very, very 33:52 important, and it was so 33:53 important that it became a part 33:55 of the missionary strategy 33:56 of the 33:57 Seventh-Day Adventist Church. 33:58 1885 to 1887, 34:00 Ellen White went to Europe. 34:01 You recall, you know, 34:02 John Andrews, 34:03 first officially sent 34:04 missionary to go to Europe. 34:06 Elder Conradi came 34:08 and followed up. 34:08 He was one 34:09 of the leaders there in Europe. 34:10 This is what 34:11 Ellen White had to say. 34:12 "I spoke in the forenoon --" 34:13 this is in Europe -- 34:14 "and then Elder Conradi said 34:16 that they had never had 34:17 a social meeting." 34:18 Okay, and little bells and 34:19 alarms went off in 34:20 Ellen White's head. 34:20 So she said, 34:21 "I told him now was the time 34:23 to break them in. 34:24 We had a very good social 34:25 meeting. 34:26 The meeting did not close until 34:27 one o'clock. 34:27 It commenced at ten." 34:30 Now, that's three hours. 34:31 And I can tell you from 34:32 personal experience, 34:32 most social meetings don't last 34:33 for three hours, 34:35 but my guess is, 34:35 particularly out of the gate, 34:36 these people were excited. 34:38 They're new to their faith. 34:39 There's a handful 34:40 of experienced believers. 34:41 Most of them are new. 34:42 They have this social meeting. 34:43 It was a powerful experience. 34:44 More about that 34:45 in just a moment. 34:47 The social meeting was so 34:48 important that if you were 34:50 a minister, 34:51 if you were going to be trained 34:51 to be a church planter 34:52 in the Adventist Church, 34:53 'cause we didn't have settled 34:54 pastors, this was to be part 34:56 of your training -- 34:57 how to conduct 34:58 the social meeting. 34:59 "Signs of the Times," 35:00 May 17, 1883. 35:27 Now, I emphasize 35:28 that last sentence for 35:29 a very specific reason. 35:30 We've talked a lot about revival 35:31 and reformation in this series, 35:33 and personally, 35:35 you can experience that today. 35:37 You can start right now. 35:38 You don't have to wait. 35:40 But for the work, 35:42 the global work of Jesus Christ 35:44 being proclaimed in the three 35:45 angels' messages to the world, 35:46 if that is going to be revived, 35:48 something else has to happen. 35:50 There has to be 35:50 a wider movement. 35:51 And she includes 35:53 the social meeting in this, 35:54 not because of, you know, magic 35:55 of this title of social meeting 35:56 or something, but of what 35:57 happened there. 35:58 People in the social meeting 36:00 are engaged. 36:02 They are no longer spectators. 36:05 And she says ministers 36:05 have to know how to do this 36:06 if they are going to 36:07 be equipped for their work. 36:10 Now, some of the strongest 36:11 statements that Ellen White had 36:12 about the social meeting 36:13 came just as the first whispers 36:14 of doing away with them 36:16 began to circulate. 36:17 And in the 1890s, 36:18 the early 1900s, 36:20 people were saying, "Hey, 36:21 you know, we'd like to have 36:22 some settled pastors. 36:22 We want to have sermons 36:24 instead of social meetings 36:25 so we can be like 36:25 the other churches out there. 36:26 That seems 36:27 to be a better way to us." 36:28 And this was her response. 36:30 "Advent Review 36:31 and Sabbath Herald," 36:32 September 10, 1895. 36:34 "Let everyone consider the value 36:35 of the social meetings, 36:36 and let not large 36:37 or small companies of believers 36:39 think that they cannot have 36:40 an enjoyable season unless they 36:42 are entertained by a preacher. 36:45 Where this dependence exists, 36:46 the people fail to obtain 36:48 that vigorous religious 36:48 experience 36:49 which they so much need 36:51 wherever their lot may be cast. 36:53 If the minister alone 36:54 does all the witnessing --" 36:56 Time-out. 36:59 What I am doing right now 37:00 is witnessing. 37:02 Most pastors 37:04 on a Sabbath morning, 37:05 if they're preaching, 37:06 they are witnessing. 37:07 I am seeking here to witness 37:08 about Jesus Christ and 37:10 about how His body, the church, 37:11 is to work best. 37:12 That's what I'm doing right now. 37:13 And in many churches, 37:15 that's the only witnessing 37:17 that takes place on 37:17 a Sabbath morning. 37:19 The preacher does it. 37:21 And as we said previously, 37:23 if you don't use 37:25 your spiritual muscle, 37:26 you will lose it. 37:27 Exactly. 37:29 In other words, 37:30 there's nothing wrong 37:31 with hearing a sermon. 37:32 I like to listen to sermons, 37:33 too -- not particularly my own, 37:34 but I like to listen to 37:35 other people's sermons, right? 37:35 Okay. 37:37 And nothing wrong with that. 37:38 But if we are to grow 37:40 spiritually to maturity 37:41 in Jesus Christ, 37:42 we also now must in turn 37:43 witness. 37:44 We must testify in a variety 37:45 of different ways 37:46 about our relationship 37:47 with Jesus Christ. 37:48 That's how we grow. 37:49 And she says, 37:50 if that's not the case, 37:51 well, let's see. 37:52 "If the minister alone 37:53 does all the witnessing, 37:54 then those 37:55 who have newly come to the faith 37:56 become dwarfed and sickly." 37:58 Some of you may remember 37:59 those same terms previously 38:01 when talking about dependence 38:02 on settled pastors. 38:03 "Dwarfed and sickly 38:04 for a lack of opportunity 38:06 to use their spiritual muscle. 38:08 They have need to learn 38:09 how to testify, how to pray, 38:11 how to sing, to the glory of 38:12 God; but failing to do this, 38:14 they have only a 38:15 one-sided experience." 38:18 You see, here's the thing. 38:19 Too often, too often, 38:21 a new person joins the church. 38:23 They're baptized and they're 38:25 excited about Jesus Christ. 38:26 And then churches will 38:29 just kind of wish them well. 38:30 "Hope you make it. 38:31 So glad you're here. 38:32 Good luck." Okay. 38:34 In the early Adventist Church, 38:35 they didn't do that. 38:36 They were instead -- immediately 38:37 new believers were 38:38 immediately placed 38:39 into a social meeting. 38:41 And in that social meeting, 38:42 you got to picture 38:42 this dynamic. 38:43 There's a circle of people 38:44 there, experienced believers 38:45 around the circle. 38:46 And the newbie doesn't know 38:48 his ear from a doughnut, right? 38:48 Doesn't know what 38:49 to do with Jesus Christ. 38:50 He's excited, 38:51 but he's not sure what 38:51 the next steps are. 38:52 Every single week, 38:54 he gets to hear, 38:55 she gets to hear 38:56 the good news coming from 38:57 the lips 38:57 of experienced believers. 38:59 "Here's how I dealt with 39:01 this victory in Jesus Christ. 39:02 Here's how I dealt with 39:03 when I failed. 39:05 And I may have even felt 39:06 like God failed me. 39:06 Here's what I did 39:08 in that situation." 39:09 The new believer sees 39:11 experienced believers pray. 39:12 They see the new -- 39:13 the experienced 39:14 believers praise the Lord. 39:15 They learn all of these skills. 39:17 And it happened week after week 39:18 after week, and it worked 39:19 like dynamite -- again, 39:21 the fastest-growing 39:21 Protestant movement 39:22 that the world had ever seen. 39:24 And it was largely fueled 39:25 by what happened in 39:26 the social meeting. 39:28 Ellen White was pretty clear 39:29 in the universality of this. 39:30 She says... 39:34 She could not picture anybody 39:35 excluding themselves 39:36 from this important 39:37 discipleship experience. 39:39 For our early Adventist 39:40 pioneers, the social meeting was 39:41 a powerful, 39:42 powerful experience not 39:44 to be neglected at any price. 39:45 Again, it was 39:47 the most important meeting 39:48 that any local 39:49 Adventist church had, period. 39:53 But it wasn't 39:53 just for believers. 39:56 Evangelism turns out to be one 39:57 of the strongest suits 39:58 of the social meeting. 40:00 I've seen this with my own eyes. 40:00 I'll tell you about that 40:01 in just a moment. 40:02 It was a great fuel 40:04 for evangelism 40:06 in the early Adventist Church, 40:07 and that in at least two ways. 40:08 First of all, 40:09 the social meeting taught 40:10 that most basic 40:11 of evangelistic skills -- 40:12 how to talk about Jesus 40:13 in front of others. 40:15 Ellen White, 40:15 when she was talking to 40:16 the believers in Australia, 40:18 the social meeting was getting 40:19 implemented in Australia. 40:20 Here's what she had to say. 40:21 She said... 40:30 The biggest reasons 40:31 why Christians don't share 40:33 their faith, in my experience, 40:34 is that they have 40:34 fear and trembling. 40:36 They're not sure what to say. 40:37 They don't know how to say it. 40:38 They're afraid they're 40:39 going to say the wrong thing 40:40 and offend somebody, right? 40:41 And so she's addressing that. 40:42 "They are learning 40:43 in the school of Christ 40:44 and are overcoming 40:45 fear and trembling." 40:46 Well, what is that school 40:47 of Christ? 40:47 She's clear... 40:58 I mean, this is basic logic 40:59 here. 41:00 By week after week 41:02 talking about Jesus in front of 41:05 mostly probably believers, 41:07 they became equipped to speak 41:08 about Jesus with those 41:09 that were not yet ready 41:10 for the second coming of Jesus. 41:12 I mean, just a basic training 41:14 school that was in session 41:15 every single Sabbath, 41:16 at least once a week. 41:18 Secondly, the social meeting 41:20 was used as a finishing tool 41:22 in public evangelistic efforts. 41:24 The plan was very simple. 41:26 The church planter, 41:26 the evangelist, 41:27 the minister, Adventist minister 41:29 would go to a new place 41:31 and would begin to preach 41:32 a series of meetings. 41:32 Crowds would come. 41:33 He would bring 41:34 in experienced 41:35 Adventist believers 41:36 from other places, 41:38 and when testing truths 41:39 were preached, for instance, 41:40 the Sabbath, 41:42 they would have a presentation 41:43 on the Sabbath, 41:44 followed by a social meeting, 41:46 and at the social meeting -- 41:48 So let's say it's the Sabbath. 41:49 The preacher 41:49 preaches about that. 41:50 Those of you 41:51 that are converts to Adventism, 41:52 my guess is you probably had 41:54 some struggles with 41:55 accommodating 41:56 Sabbath into your life. 41:58 Not working on Sabbath 41:59 from Friday sundown 42:00 to Saturday sundown, 42:01 that can make 42:02 some major changes. 42:03 Some of you probably had to quit 42:04 profitable jobs, right? 42:06 Well, the same 42:06 was true back then. 42:08 And so to help people 42:09 that were wondering, 42:10 "Should I do this," 42:12 the preacher held 42:13 a social meeting, 42:14 and in that meeting, 42:15 he would say -- he would start 42:16 the meeting, 42:17 and then various Adventists 42:18 would stand, 42:19 and they would testify about 42:20 how they made their decision 42:22 to follow Jesus, 42:23 including keeping 42:24 the Sabbath day holy. 42:25 It was powerful. 42:27 You see, the preacher, people 42:29 figure, is paid to say 42:32 these truths, right? 42:34 There's an ulterior motive 42:35 that sometimes skeptics 42:36 wonder about, right? 42:37 But when just the average 42:39 church member stands up 42:40 and says, "You know what? 42:41 My experience with the Sabbath, 42:42 it was a challenge at first. 42:43 I wasn't sure if I could 42:44 make it work. 42:45 It would cut right into what 42:47 I thought was my rising career. 42:48 But I wanted to follow Jesus. 42:49 And so I did, 42:51 and I've never looked back. 42:52 There's been some challenging 42:53 times, but the Lord has made 42:54 it worth every agony 42:56 along the way, 42:57 and Jesus is sweeter besides." 42:59 I'll tell you what. 43:00 When you hear somebody who's 43:01 not paid to do that, it matters. 43:03 It makes a difference. 43:04 And it worked wonderfully in 43:06 Adventist evangelistic circles. 43:07 I've had similar testimonies 43:08 when I've preached public 43:09 evangelistic series. 43:10 It just makes 43:11 a great difference to hear 43:14 the average person's testimony 43:15 in bringing these things on. 43:17 The use of social meetings 43:18 for evangelism 43:19 was sufficiently powerful that 43:21 it led to an inevitable 43:22 conclusion. 43:22 She says... 43:26 Now, I don't know 43:26 if preachers felt insulted 43:27 at that time or not. 43:28 "What do you mean 43:29 my sermon didn't do it all?" 43:30 She said, "No, no, 43:31 preaching's fine. 43:32 You need to have preaching, 43:34 but the social meeting ripens it 43:35 off better than preaching does." 43:38 You know, so important 43:39 were these small groups 43:40 to the ministry of the church 43:41 that Ellen White eventually made 43:42 a famous statement. 43:43 If you've ever studied 43:44 small group ministry 43:45 in the Adventist Church, 43:46 you have seen this before. 43:47 "Testimonies" volume seven, 43:48 page 21 and 22. 43:50 She says, "The formation 43:52 of small companies 43:53 as a basis of Christian effort 43:55 has been presented to me 43:56 by One --" capital "O" -- 43:57 "who cannot err." 43:58 In other words, 43:59 this is God's idea 44:00 she's going to share here 44:01 about this, not hers. 44:02 She didn't make it up. 44:04 "If there is a large number 44:05 in the church --" Is there 44:06 a large number in this church? 44:08 Yes. Okay. Safe to say. 44:09 "Let the members be formed 44:10 into small companies 44:11 to work not only 44:13 for the church members, 44:14 but for unbelievers. 44:15 If in one place there are only 44:17 two or three who know the truth, 44:18 let them form themselves 44:19 into a band of workers. 44:20 Let them keep their bond 44:21 of union unbroken, 44:22 pressing together 44:23 in love and unity, 44:24 encouraging one another 44:25 to advance, 44:26 and gaining courage and strength 44:28 from the assistance 44:28 of the others. 44:30 Let them reveal Christ-like 44:31 forbearance and patience, 44:32 speaking no hasty words, 44:33 using the talent of speech 44:35 to build one another up 44:36 in the most holy faith. 44:37 Let them labor in Christ-like 44:38 love for those outside 44:40 the fold, forgetting self 44:41 in their endeavor 44:42 to help others. 44:43 As they work 44:44 and pray in Christ's name, 44:45 their numbers will increase, 44:47 for the Savior says --" 44:48 and then she quotes 44:49 from the Shekinah verses 44:50 that we looked at 44:51 a couple parts ago -- 44:52 "'If two of you,'" Jesus says, 44:54 "'shall agree on earth 44:55 as touching anything 44:56 that they shall ask, 44:57 it shall be done for them of my 44:58 Father which is in heaven.'" 45:01 Ladies and gentlemen, 45:02 small groups played a key, 45:04 key role 45:05 in the Adventist Church's 45:06 evangelism and discipleship 45:07 efforts. 45:08 And the social meeting was 45:09 very often the fulcrum 45:11 from which those efforts 45:12 gained their leverage. 45:15 All of which 45:18 leads us to the important 45:19 question. 45:20 If the social meeting was 45:21 such great stuff, where'd it go? 45:25 Why'd we quit it? 45:28 That's certainly come up 45:28 in my mind, right? 45:29 I mean, if it did all these 45:30 great things, and 45:31 certainly the testimony 45:32 from Adventist history 45:32 is crystal clear, 45:33 this was a big deal, right, 45:35 how come it went away? 45:37 Well, this was 45:39 a self-inflicted wound. 45:41 I'm going to defer to the words 45:43 of Dr. Russell Burrill. 45:45 Dr. Burrill at one point 45:46 was the head elder here, 45:47 still a valued member 45:48 of our church here. 45:50 And at the time 45:51 when I first learned about this, 45:53 he was one of my professors 45:54 at the Adventist 45:55 Theological Seminary. 45:56 He is one 45:58 of the foremost researchers 45:59 in this area, 46:00 and I owe him a great debt for 46:01 his leadership in these things. 46:03 Here's what he had to say 46:04 a number of years ago. 46:06 He said, "After the death 46:07 of Ellen White in 1915, 46:09 social meetings gradually faded 46:11 from practice and were replaced 46:12 by the prayer meeting. 46:14 Eventually Adventist churches 46:15 began to pattern their services 46:16 after those of other 46:17 Protestant churches and clergy 46:19 were appointed over 46:19 the congregation." 46:20 These were settled pastors now. 46:22 "Soon the prayer 46:23 meeting degenerated. 46:25 Instead of a time 46:25 for people to pray 46:26 and share testimonies, 46:27 it became another time 46:28 for the pastor to preach 46:30 or give a cognitive Bible study, 46:31 followed by a season of prayer. 46:33 In most churches 46:34 the relational element 46:35 was entirely lost. 46:37 An unbalanced emphasis 46:38 on the cognitive 46:39 and eventually even a fear 46:40 of the relational 46:42 replaced the beautiful balance 46:43 of early Adventism. 46:45 The biblical plan for 46:46 both member care 46:47 and the role of clergy 46:48 were lost. 46:49 But these two concepts go 46:51 together. 46:52 With a primary-care pastor 46:53 over churches, 46:54 the relational small group 46:55 became unnecessary 46:57 and even a hindrance 46:58 to the work of the clergy." 47:01 In other words, 47:02 we came to value believing 47:05 something more than living it. 47:09 Which leads me to the first 47:10 of three conclusions. 47:11 My words now. 47:13 Number one... 47:21 The devil knows all kinds 47:22 of facts and figures. 47:22 He know which day is 47:23 the Sabbath. 47:24 He knows about 47:24 the state of the dead. 47:25 He knows the truth about 47:26 the sanctuary, 47:27 and he's not going to heaven 47:28 last I checked, 47:30 because he doesn't have a living 47:31 relationship with the author 47:32 of all those things. 47:34 It's not enough 47:34 just to know stuff, 47:35 ladies and gentlemen, 47:36 are Adventists right 47:37 in their theology. 47:38 You know what? 47:39 A whole bunch of the time. 47:40 That's one of the reasons 47:40 I'm here. 47:41 Absolutely. 47:42 I make no bones about that. 47:43 But if all we're doing 47:44 is believing right stuff 47:45 and we're not living it, 47:46 what's the point? 47:48 Jesus says we are 47:49 to be His body, His living, 47:50 breathing body 47:52 in which these principles are 47:52 not just proclaimed, 47:54 but in which we live out 47:55 in community with one another 47:57 and regularly invite those 47:58 on the outside to come on in. 48:02 Number two... 48:24 We need to put in 48:25 the rearview mirror 48:26 as much as we possibly 48:27 can this side of heaven 48:29 the phone call that you -- 48:31 Maybe you've gotten it. 48:32 I know I've gotten it. 48:33 Most every pastor does. 48:34 "Pastor, I've been gone for 48:36 nine months, and not 48:37 a single person contacted me." 48:40 Now, nobody even knew about it, 48:41 right? 48:42 That's got to be put to bed. 48:44 It's got to be left behind. 48:45 And the way to do that 48:47 is by doing what Jesus asked us 48:48 to do, by developing genuine 48:50 Christian community. 48:51 There is such a blessing waiting 48:52 to be obtained here. 48:55 In conclusion, number three... 49:16 You know, we look back too often 49:18 at the black-and-white 49:19 photographs of our 49:20 early Adventist pioneers, 49:22 and we immediately 49:23 think they were starched 49:24 and stiff and stodgy, right? 49:26 I mean, I used to think 49:27 that EGW stood for 49:28 extra grumpy woman, right? 49:31 Because you look at 49:31 the pictures, right? 49:33 I mean, these are lifeless 49:34 bunch, right? 49:35 What a danger it would 49:36 have been to be transported 49:38 in time back to be with them. 49:39 Not so. 49:40 These were a passionate bunch. 49:42 They knew what it meant 49:43 to feel a relationship 49:44 with Jesus, not just 49:45 to know the truth about it. 49:46 And they intentionally, 49:48 regularly, for decade 49:48 after decade, 49:49 put these things together. 49:51 Did we have our flaws? 49:52 Oh, yes, we did, 49:53 but we were passionate 49:54 about those, too, right? 49:56 We lived out our faith 49:57 on a daily basis, 49:58 and the social meeting -- 49:59 Again, never mind the name. 50:01 Look what happened in that 50:02 meeting. 50:03 This was the methodological 50:06 fuel that enabled them 50:07 to continually deepen 50:09 their relationship with Jesus 50:11 and bring new people 50:11 to the faith, 50:12 and not just bring new people 50:13 to the faith, 50:14 but then help them mature to now 50:16 where they are bringing 50:17 new people into the faith. 50:18 And they did it over 50:19 and over every single Sabbath. 50:23 It was awesome. 50:25 So I leave you with a challenge. 50:29 To be clear, 50:31 we do large group 50:32 gatherings very well. 50:35 We are experts in this. 50:36 We do it well. 50:37 Long may it live. 50:39 Praise the Lord. Amen. 50:41 And -- And since I'm so careful 50:44 about my conjunctions, 50:45 I really should change that. 50:46 But -- 50:48 But when it comes 50:50 to genuine Christian community 50:52 and smaller group settings, 50:53 we in the West 50:54 have our work cut out for us. 50:57 So here's my challenge to you, 50:58 and I'm just going to put this 50:59 out here, alright? 51:00 And this is not the only time 51:01 that you'll have opportunity 51:02 to take advantage of it, 51:03 but I'll just put it out there. 51:03 In the next six months, 51:05 I want to challenge you to start 51:06 or join a social meeting. 51:09 Start or join a social meeting. 51:12 And some of you think, "Well, 51:13 I don't know how to do that." 51:14 Good news -- I do. 51:16 I know how to start 51:16 social meetings. 51:18 I have been to well over 100 51:19 social meetings in my time. 51:20 I've started 51:21 dozens of them myself. 51:23 I know how to do this, 51:24 and it's not because I'm 51:24 a genius, it's because it's 51:25 really simple, right? 51:27 So there's two things. 51:27 If you don't know 51:28 how to start a social meeting 51:29 but you're intrigued by this, 51:30 you're like, "Oh, maybe, maybe, 51:31 maybe I could do this," 51:33 okay, you probably can. 51:34 Two things that I would 51:35 encourage you to do. 51:35 Number one, study. 51:37 You've had a little primer 51:38 right here this morning, 51:40 this afternoon, okay? 51:42 So study now for yourself. 51:43 For instance, 51:44 go to the Ellen White Estate 51:46 online and look there. 51:48 Do a search in the works of 51:50 Ellen White for social meeting. 51:51 Put it in quotation marks, okay? 51:53 "Social meeting" right together, 51:54 quotation marks on either end. 51:56 You need the quotation marks 51:57 so your Boolean logic 51:58 will look for the right thing. 51:59 Those of you that don't know 52:00 what that is, you can ask 52:01 somebody at potluck, 52:02 and it'll be fun 52:03 to see what they say, okay? 52:04 But that will bring up 52:05 social meeting. 52:06 You'll find somewhere between 52:06 100 and 200 references to 52:08 the social meeting. 52:08 That will be very enlightening. 52:10 Read that chapter in 52:11 "Testimonies" about this called 52:12 "The Social Meeting" there 52:13 so that you understand 52:14 the dynamics of what 52:15 was happening 52:16 in early Adventism. 52:18 Secondly, you can download 52:21 a four-page starter kit 52:23 that I have put together. 52:24 Okay, just hold 52:24 your phone up there. 52:25 For those of you 52:26 that are unfamiliar with 52:27 how to capture a QR code, 52:29 just open your picture-taking 52:31 stuff so you're, like, 52:32 ready to take a photo, okay? 52:33 And point it at the screen, 52:35 and it will grasp that QR code. 52:37 Something that will appear 52:37 just below it, a URL, 52:39 press that, and it will take 52:41 you to where this 52:42 four-page handout is. 52:43 Now, the four-page handout is 52:44 not perfect. 52:45 I've developed it more and more 52:46 over the years, and maybe 52:47 next week it will be different 52:48 as we learn more and more 52:49 about implementing things here. 52:50 But this will give 52:51 you a good start. 52:52 If you're watching at home 52:53 right now, 52:54 you, too, can get this 52:55 and you can use it 52:56 in your setting there. 52:58 It is straightforward to do. 53:01 It has powerful results. 53:03 And let me leave you briefly 53:04 with my testimony in this area. 53:07 As I said, 53:07 I've been well over 100. 53:08 I don't know what 53:09 the actual number is, 53:10 but it's well over 100 53:11 social meetings in my ministry 53:12 thus far, 53:13 and overwhelmingly the ones 53:15 that I have personally attended 53:17 were almost all very good. 53:20 How many things in life 53:20 can you say that about, that 53:22 almost all of it's very good? 53:23 With this social, I can. 53:24 I can say it. 53:25 I have been to a few duds. 53:26 Yes, okay, that's true. 53:28 But most of them, 53:29 the overwhelming 53:30 majority were very good. 53:32 The social meeting's 53:32 very simple. 53:33 I'll just give you 53:34 a brief overview here. 53:35 There's a leader. 53:35 Usually there's a reading 53:36 that is read, and the 53:37 opening reading is 53:38 in that four-page pack 53:39 that you can get through 53:40 the QR code, and the leader 53:42 reads that so the people are 53:43 on the same page. 53:43 If there's a guest 53:44 who's never experienced it, 53:45 they'll get a primer 53:46 on how that works. 53:48 And then the guest -- 53:48 the leader 53:49 will usually start the sharing. 53:51 And the sharing is 53:52 on one of two topics. 53:53 Number one, 53:54 how is it with you and Jesus 53:55 today? 53:55 This is real stuff. 53:57 It's not a Bible study. 53:58 This is application of the Bible 53:59 to real life, 54:00 Jesus in real life. 54:01 How is it with you and Jesus 54:02 today? 54:03 The second topic is one 54:05 that the group can choose. 54:06 Maybe the group says, 54:07 "We're going 54:08 to testify about prayer, 54:09 about developing a prayer life. 54:11 We're going to testify 54:12 about the blessing that the 54:13 Sabbath has been to us," okay? 54:14 So you can choose a topic 54:16 for your social meeting. 54:17 Preparation needs to take place 54:19 in the week ahead. 54:19 As I mentioned earlier, 54:20 this is not just off the cuff. 54:21 Certainly there is an 54:22 off-the-cuff element here, 54:23 but you need to be thinking 54:24 ahead to be able to share 54:26 what needs to be shared, 54:27 what the Spirit puts on 54:28 your heart to share 54:29 in that social meeting. 54:30 The leader begins, 54:31 two to three minutes max, 54:32 probably, for his testimony, 54:33 her testimony. 54:35 And then you don't go around the 54:37 circle, 'cause you'll intimidate 54:38 a guest that's there. 54:39 Just let people begin to share 54:40 across the circle,. 54:40 just popcorn like, 54:42 and they'll begin to share 54:43 their experience there. 54:44 The first time that I used 54:46 the social meeting was in 54:47 a church-planting environment. 54:48 This is years ago. 54:49 Dr. Burrill was presenting 54:50 about it. 54:50 I was absolutely elated. 54:52 I'd never heard of such a thing 54:53 before and I wanted to do this. 54:54 And so in my first church plant, 54:56 the way we structured 54:57 Sabbath mornings is 54:58 I preached first in the morning, 55:00 we had a break, 55:01 and then we had a social 55:02 meeting, and we didn't call 55:03 it a social meeting. 55:04 We called it 55:04 Community Growth Group, 55:05 'cause nobody knows what 55:06 a social meeting is. 55:07 So we -- But we'd break up 55:09 into our social meetings there, 55:10 and we primed the pump. 55:11 We had experienced believers 55:13 there with guests, 55:14 and particularly 55:15 as the church plant went on, 55:16 those were some 55:17 of the sweetest times, 55:18 honestly, in my ministry life, 55:21 because looking back 55:22 on those conversations, 55:23 there would be, you know, 55:25 people many times weeping tears 55:26 of joy as they began 55:28 to experience genuine 55:29 Christian community, 55:30 some of them 55:31 for the very first time. 55:33 And to see -- this was 55:34 astonishing to me -- to see 55:35 guests, people that were not -- 55:38 people that were not members 55:40 of any church, coming 55:42 to our church plant 55:43 there, and for the first time, 55:44 they're exploring spiritual 55:45 things, and you could see 55:47 the tears coming from their eyes 55:50 as they realized 55:53 that what they hoped was true 55:55 about Christians really is, 55:58 that they care for one another, 56:00 that Jesus really makes 56:02 a difference in their lives. 56:04 It was powerful, 56:06 powerful, and over the years, 56:08 going to dozens and dozens 56:09 of these things, 56:09 I am completely convinced 56:11 that this simple little thing -- 56:12 I don't care what you call it, 56:13 but what happens 56:14 in that meeting is the church. 56:18 It's Jesus 56:19 in the midst of His people. 56:22 Ladies and gentlemen, 56:23 we have a world to reach. 56:25 Time is short. 56:27 We must think big, it's true. 56:29 We have to reach the planet. 56:31 But if we're going to think big, 56:33 we must also think small. 56:36 Would you please carefully 56:37 consider what the Spirit 56:40 would have you do with 56:42 this kind of 56:43 small-group ministry? 56:52 >> I'm Shane Anderson, 56:53 the lead pastor here 56:54 at Pioneer Memorial Church. 56:56 At Pioneer Media, 56:57 we have been blessed 56:58 by the financial support 57:00 that comes from our viewers like 57:01 you that enable us 57:03 to continue this ministry. 57:05 We've made a conscious decision 57:07 not to continually appeal to you 57:08 for that support. 57:10 However, keeping this ministry 57:11 going takes money 57:12 to support our staff and 57:14 technology needs. 57:16 If God has blessed you 57:17 and you would like to further 57:18 the work of this ministry, 57:20 we invite you 57:21 to partner with us. 57:22 You can donate on our website, 57:24 pmchurch.org. 57:26 Then click "giving" at the top. 57:29 Then select "media ministry." 57:31 Or call the number 57:33 877-HIS-WILL. 57:35 Again, that number is 57:36 877 the two words HIS-WILL. 57:40 My prayer is that the God 57:42 who has blessed 57:43 you will continue to pour 57:45 into your life the gifts 57:46 of His joy and His hope. 57:48 Thank you, and 57:49 I'm looking forward to seeing 57:51 you right here again next time. 57:59 ♪ 58:09 ♪ 58:19 ♪ |
Revised 2025-05-27