The Call to Community: United in Prayer

There's a question that I keep asking myself and it has to do with being called to community.  One of the hardest things to come to terms with, even most recently, is regarding my call to ministry.  It seems that every 3 years I experience this question as a storm that lingers in my heart till an answer can be found. 

I've just wrapped up my third year serving at St. Luke's UMC in Indianapolis, IN and so this question has come up.  As we, St. Luke's, experience a transition from our Senior Pastor leaving, to an interim, and then on to another Senior Pastor, this sense of urgency has arisen around the idea of "the call" to ministry in my own personal life.

So I'm asking myself the question, what is your call to ministry look like Chris?  Rather than give you the full argument that has been taking place in my heart and mind, I will sum it all up with one statement...I am called to the greater community.  Meaning, that my call is to the Church of Indianapolis.  This calling is not one that is held down necessarily by a specific doctrine of belief, other than my own personal doctrine.  It's not one that is specifically held down by a denomination, which could be thrown in with the whole doctrine idea.  It's not one that is specific to anything but allegiance to Christ, the scripture, relationship, and serving.

So I would tell you that I serve on staff at St. Luke's UMC, but I feel called to the Church of Indianapolis.  St. Luke's is just one community within that larger community.  So then I started asking myself, what would happen if as pastors and servants of Christ we put down our petty arguements, stopped trying to say that our church is better than yours, and started focusing on the bigger picture?

Paul, an Apostle of Christ, was called specifically to cities or churches in a city, such as the Church of Antioch as one example.  There was only one church in Antioch and it was the Church of Antioch.  I thought I would take a step back to where some of this stuff began and look at the passages in the Book of Acts.  Jesus' ministry on Earth, as it was, was concluding and a new era was about to be ushered in by the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  But before that there's a passage that I wanted to look at that talks about unity in the body and community.

That passage is Acts 1:12-14...

¹² Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk^[a] from the city. ¹³ When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. ¹⁴ They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

I especially like verse 14 where it says, "All these were continually united in prayer,"  What would our communities look like if our Pastors were all united in prayer?  What if we came together and prayed with each other once a week?  How would our communities grow closer to God?

This is why I think we need to make a shift away from our current thinking that we "belong to ______ church", you fill in the blank, and move more to this idea that the "church" is not just one building, but a movement of believers in Christ.  How would things look if we were unified in prayer as the disciples were?
What would your city, town, or community look like if your Pastors were united in prayer?

Chris