Nurturing Communities\

Photo: iStock

OUR oldest son has been living in Australia for the last two years. Although he’s on the other side of the world, we are in contact almost every day with messages and we communicate via FaceTime at least once a week. The funny thing is, we talk more now than when he was a ‘sullen youth’ living under our roof! In times gone by, contact with a relative in Australia would have been minimal; perhaps the odd letter which would have taken weeks to arrive. Distance was much more of an issue in the days before modern communication.

And so it was for Paul. He had founded a brand new church in the city of Thessalonica but now, being removed by some distance from that place, he had no means of keeping up. He had been desperate to visit in person but circumstances had not allowed it.

So, reaching the point where he could stand it no longer, he decided to send his young lieutenant, Timothy, in his stead – that Timothy might strengthen and encourage the new converts and, in time, return to Paul with up to date news (c3v1).

It’s not diffi cult to imagine what Paul was worrying about; indeed he writes that ‘I was afraid that in some way the tempter had tempted you and that our labours might have been in vain.’ (c3v5) In bringing the Gospel to the Thessalonians, Paul had been up front from the start that becoming a follower of Jesus would entail many trials. They could not have been surprised therefore when that was precisely how it turned out (c3v3-4).

But being forewarned about something and being able to handle it are not necessarily the same thing. Naturally, therefore, Paul was worried about whether the fl edgling Christian community at Thessalonica had stood fi rm or had in fact crumbled under pressure.

Imagine his unbridled joy, then, to learn upon Timothy’s return that the young Church was indeed ‘standing fi rm in the Lord.’ (c3v8). Timothy had brought good news of their faith and love. How relieved Paul must have been!

Anyone who has the interests of the church in mind will understand exactly how Paul must have felt in all of this. And anyone who has had the privilege of leading someone to Christian commitment will get it. Your deepest longing is for the fl ourishing of the church and that those you’ve journeyed with on their road to faith will go from strength to strength.

At the same time, there’s nothing more heartbreaking than seeing a fl edgling Christian community disintegrating or witnessing someone fall away from following Jesus. Like Paul, you’d not want your work to have been in vain and you’d be devastated for those people, or individuals, who had gone back to their ‘former life.’

The writer of Hebrews off ers a frighteningly sombre assessment concerning the fate of those who ‘turn away from God,’ suggesting that there’s no hope of them coming back into the fold thereafter (Hebrews 6:4-6). Even if one would want to adopt a less gloomy approach, the point remains: it’s devastating when anyone, for whatever reason, drops out of the community.

This is the reason for Paul’s relief and delight. And it should be all the reason we need to ensure as much as is possible that our congregations are warm, nurturing, loving communities that off er the best possible environment for people to come to faith in Christ, to grow in that faith and to stand fi rm in that faith – yes, even when the going gets tough.

The Rev Dr Martin Fair is minister at Arbroath: St Andrew’s.

This article appears in the April 2020 Issue of Life and Work

Click here to view the article in the magazine.

To view other articles in this issue Click here.

If you would like to view other issues of Life and Work, you can see the full archive here.