What Did They Proclaim?
Apr 27, 2022
The spiritual content pastors and Christian speakers use today flows from the Bible, and that is a wonderful thing. However, the spiritual content of the First Church flowed from the stories about the life of Jesus. How would a solid diet of Jesus Stories shape disciples differently than what we do? Interesting question.
#JesusStories: Preaching, teaching, proclaiming, and testifying in the First Century centralized on Jesus’ life. Rather than giving a specific JesusStory today, I want to focus on an entire gospel – the Book of Mark. This is the first gospel ever written, and was done by a young 16 year-old named John Mark. He was not an eyewitness to the life of Jesus as he was too young. However, he was from a well-to-do home that afforded him an education, which meant he was literate. So when Peter came to preach each week at Mark’s mothers upper room, arguably the first church in Jerusalem, young John Mark sat around that New Passover table and took notes on papyrus of pastor Peters’ preaching. And what did Peter’s preaching sound like? It was the stories about Jesus and the stories Jesus told. In other words, the book of Mark is the best elongated example of what preaching sounded like from that time period.
I fear we have made a huge mistake in thinking that our present-day preaching is similar to the preaching of the First Apostles. Teachings based on the fullness of scripture is a great thing, but it is not the same thing the First Church used. Now don’t get me wrong, I believe the Bible is the inspired word of God, I love the scriptures, and I teach from them often in my Christian leadership. However, I find it a worthy meditation to consider the difference of Apostolic Era teaching. Especially if we are going to use an Apostolic Era ecclesial form – the Dinner Church. If we are going to recover their socio-form of church, we would do well to understand their preaching-form as well. If you want an interesting Bible study idea, take out your bible app and look up the words: proclaim, preach, testify, and teach that appear from Acts through the last Epistle. Read each verse carefully to see ‘what‘ they proclaimed, preached, testified, and taught. When I did this exercise, I found 74 scriptural sections that clearly identified they were preaching about Jesus, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Good News about Christ, the living word, etc. Only a couple times did those search words not flatly identify the Jesus narrative. I have meditated long and hard about what this means. And while I have several insights, the most impactful one has to do with our inability to speak to secular people compared with the First Churches profound ability to speak to the secular peoples of their day – the Romans, the Greeks, the Pagans, and even Barbarians. (See Romans 1:14). But then again, they were proclaiming the Jesus Stories. (See Romans 1:15-16). There is merit to recovering JesusStories preaching, especially if it restores our ability to speak to our secular neighbors.
#DinnerChurchQuotes: The early preachers of the good news had one subject and one only – Jesus. This was their ‘word’ which they broadcast so assiduously. (Michael Green)
#PracticalStuff: How well does your team know the Jesus Stories? Have the Jesus Stories become foundational in their faith? And how often must you repeat this message before they dive deeply into the different stories Jesus lived and Jesus told? And what will happen in your dinner church if your team and volunteers become so filled with the Jesus Stories that they spill out over and over again at your tables? You will end up with a room full of workers and guests who start looking strangely similar to Jesus himself. And the ability to shape people in the likeness of Jesus is what makes a Dinner Church different than a feed. Suggestion: take the four questions listed above into your next team meeting; give them a JesusStories Bible; start reading through those stories with a team reading schedule perhaps. What do you think?
Blessings & Boldness,
Verlon
Dr. Verlon and Melodee Fosner have led a multi-site Assemblies of God Dinner Church in Seattle, Washington since 1999 (www.CommunityDinners.com). In this decade when more churches in the U.S. are declining than thriving, and when ninety-six churches a week are closing, Verlon and Melodee sensed that a different way of doing church was needed for their 100-year old Seattle congregation. It soon became obvious that they were not the only ones in need of a different path. They joined the FX team in 2016 and founded the Dinner Church Collective. And then in 2019 founded the Dinner Church School of Leadership. There is a lot to be gained when church leaders begin to see open doors in the American landscape that they had previously overlooked. Therein lies the journey for those who will forge a new future for the American Church.
Categories: Uncategorized
04.28.22
By: Nathan Shipley
I believe that sometimes the “church” has become a place of debate. Instead of reaching the lost with love , we bicker amongst ourselves. Theological debates over doctrine and sacraments. If only to go back in time and see the Apostolic era! Pagans and prositutes eating from the same table. Sounds like church to me!
04.28.22
By: Brad Andres
The emphasis on the stories of Jesus and stories Jesus told has been one of the most refreshing re-focuses through the DCSL. And it has certainly improved my ability to engage in natural discussion with people while relating the stories to the realities of life.
04.28.22
By: Julie
Since I came to Christ, I have been so excited about what He is doing in my life. When I meet with others I say, what God moments have you had this week and am often met with silence. This reminds me of the importance to keep sharing the stories. Some have gotten so comfortable they don’t realize they have God moments/Jesus stories happening every day and they may very well be missing them. He is alive in us!
04.28.22
By: David A. Brakke
I recently began a new friendship and have quickly found spirituality to be a topic of discussion. Most of our conversations surround the idea of how spirituality might affect our current life circumstances. We have not spent any time talking about heaven, hell, angels, demons, or any formal systematic theology. In fact, my friend does not even seem interested in those things. Mostly we have just discussed what the life of Jesus looked like and what it would mean to implement Jesus habits into our lives. I soon made sure he had a Bible and suggested reading through the Gospels. In a matter of just a few days I was shocked at the detail and clarity to which my friend was able communicate the stories that he read. Additionally, he makes very developed observations and askes surprisingly deep questions. Lastly, to my surprise he seems to be very impressed by Jesus’ stories weather he believes them to be true or not.
04.29.22
By: Jeremy Veninga
I have committed to every time I open the Bible that I am staying in the gospel. I believe it is important that we experience this for ourselves before we can give it away. The amazing thing is that I feel closer to Jesus through this and I’m seeing things and reading things that I have not before.
It something you really can’t explain it just needs to be experienced. How there are not more books directly correlated with Jesus and leadership and discipleship is crazy to me. Who did it better?
04.29.22
By: Anthony Johnson
I’ve really appreciated the emphasis on the Gospels as we’ve been learning through the Dinner Church School of Leadership. It’s helped me not only prepare for our dinner church, it’s also been refreshing for my own time with Jesus.
04.30.22
By: Debbie Wilkerson
I love the suggestion to read the Jesus Stories together with our team. That would help to unite everyone on the “same page” in more ways than one!
04.30.22
By: David Dalton
When I first encountered the suggestion that Jesus stories should be central to everything we do instead of the Bible as a whole it was somewhat challenging for me. Over the past few months, I have come to the realization that a focus on the stories of Jesus is not only appropriate, but essential. We sometimes give lip service to the idea that all the Bible points to Jesus, but we then spend as much or more time with the rest of the Scripture than we do with the Gospels. If we truly believe that Jesus is the central character of our faith, that it makes sense that is where we should spend most of our time. If we truly believe that we are to be Christlike, how are we to do that unless we are steeped primarily in the life, stories, and teachings of Jesus?
I am having this conversation with some people in my denomination right now. We have been so focused on the whole of scripture for so long, that to suggest the Gospels should be our primary focus causes us some discomfort. It is, however something I think we need to work through to fully embrace the life of Christ.
05.3.22
By: Kristina Meece
I have watched intently since starting the DCSL when people talk about scripture. There is a difference in how people look when they tell you a Jesus Story that is meaningful than when they share other scripture. Their face softens, and their eyes become bright. When you talk about the person you love more than anything else, you show that love in your physical demeanor. When you talk about other scripture, you are using intellect and not needing your posture/demeanor to become like that of one speaking intellectually. When I am around someone speaking a Jesus Story, I mirror how they are behaving. Same when we just talk about scripture. I’m pretty sure it is hard-wired in us to mirror those we are around.
05.5.22
By: Megan Monterrosa
In my journey of starting a dinner church and studying in the DCSL, I have really come to understand the importance of the Jesus stories and keeping them central to our preaching and to our lives as Christ followers. I have come to respect and embrace the power of Jesus in these messages both for ourselves and for others. And I can admit to having to work through a process of change so I trust Jesus to work through them- I can attest to the fact that He certainly does!
We regularly hear from our dinner church attenders, some of who say they’re Christians and some who are not, about how much they enjoy the messages about Jesus and the impact they have on them. In my own life, being intentionally heart-focused on Jesus’ life and words is giving me more evangelism readiness, and it is helping me approach life and ministry progressively closer with Him.
In our dinner church, the area we most need to grow in next is being able to see Christ formed over time in those we minister to. I’m going to be challenging our volunteers to always have a Jesus story alive inside of them that can “spill out”- it makes us into natural missionaries like the early believers. Teaching our team not just to make conversations and try to discuss the message, but to actually be filled with Jesus stories themselves, is the key so we will be focusing on this!
05.19.22
By: daryl miller
I love kerygmatic preaching with the gospels. my congregation loves, too. Jesus stories. they always resonate with folks , regardless of age, socio-economic condition, gender, health status, living situation, and etc. it’s a beautiful thing to to look out at a group of people who received the gospel; not my 3-points and a poem.