Bible Study recap (1 Thes. 2: 9-13)

It was a modest turnout this morning, but we are assured that wherever two or three are gathered in his name, there Christ will be also.

You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was toward you believers. The letter speaks to the role of community as witnesses, what we see and do is observed and noted by our neighbours (for good and bad). It is like living in a fishbowl where everyone observes, from all sides, our conduct and our words.

We noted the complete conversion of Saul (Pharisee energetically persecuting the church with violence and aggression) to Paul (apostle energetically promoting the church with care and support) mirrors the tactics of "the competition" in Thessalonica. The false prophets and apostles cajoled, badgered, threatened and bribed people into faith and belief. Paul, Silas and Timothy, worked alongside the people "urging and encouraging and pleading" so they might come to know Christ.

...when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God's word... The encouragement and affirmation that the church recognized Paul's ministry for what it was, from God. He, as a human agent, was able to convey a divine message. Or more tellingly, the community discerned God's purpose in Paul's teachings.

For us then, the task and role of discernment seems to be most pressing in our churches. Not so much whether we can tell if a message is from God, or from human hearts, but to discover what God's purpose and vision might be for our congregations in our present time and place. What is feasible, given financial constraint and dwindling volunteer base?

The answer, I suspect, is in greater knowledge of oneself, and being open to the many voices, opinions and ideas that are present within the community, within the "cloud of witnesses" that surrounds and supports our own spirits. From within these truths, will come a path for us to take -- a way for us to take our future into our own hands rather than being forced into a decision by external, monetary, factors.

The church (as a community of faithful people) will survive, of that I am convinced. What form its ministry will have remains for us to discover and engage.