From Brokenness to Belonging
Throughout this Empowered for Purpose series, I have been looking at the apostle Peter. I love Peter because he is so much like us. He was an ordinary man with a trade, a wife, and a life already underway. Then Jesus came along, and everything changed. Peter heard the call every disciple eventually hears: “Come, follow Me.” His life took a new trajectory.
Peter followed with passion, courage, and more than a little bravado. He was destined to become a mighty apostle and a great leader in the Church, yet he was still growing. Before the crucifixion, he confidently insisted that even if everyone else deserted Jesus, he never would; he was ready to go to prison. Jesus replied that He had prayed for Peter and warned that Peter would deny Him three times (Luke 22:31–34). That night, Peter did exactly that. He denied the Lord, wept bitterly, and entered a season of shame and brokenness (Luke 22:54–62).
After the resurrection, Jesus gently restored him. Three times Peter had denied Jesus; three times Jesus asked, “Do you love Me?” He did not merely tell Peter to get back to work. He forgave him, affirmed him, and again entrusted him with the care of His sheep (John 21:15–19). In a few words, Jesus told Peter he was still valued, still called, and still entrusted with a purpose. Sometimes that is all we need: a word or two from the Lord that changes everything.
Yet Peter’s public transformation did not fully come into view until Pentecost. When the Holy Spirit was poured out, the man who had cowered before a servant girl stood and boldly proclaimed Christ. About three thousand people were added to the Church that day (Acts 2). Peter stepped into the leadership for which he had been prepared, and the Church emerged as a Spirit-filled community in Jerusalem that would spread throughout the world. More than two thousand years later, the Church is still advancing, and God’s Kingdom is still growing.
Peter’s journey in this series can be described by four realities: new identity, new anointing, new relationships, and new authority. Community belongs at the heart of that transformation. We are not empowered merely to become impressive individuals. We are empowered to become a people.
Hungry for the Word, Built on the Cornerstone
Peter begins 1 Peter 2 by urging believers to lay aside malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and evil speaking. He then tells us, “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed we have tasted that the Lord is gracious” (1 Peter 2:1–3 NKJV).
When I was a young believer, about forty-six years ago, I assumed this passage applied only to new converts. I see it differently now. No matter how educated we become, how long we have walked with God, how faithfully we have served, or whether we have attended seminary, in a very real sense we remain like newborn children before Him. We never outgrow our need for the Word of God.
One of my grandsons is still nursing, and when he gets hungry, there is no mistaking what he wants. He reaches, paws, and pursues the milk with his whole little body. When he finally gets it, he drinks eagerly and is perfectly content, even if a little milk runs down his chin. What would happen if we desired the Word of God with that kind of hunger?
The Word anchors us, builds us, and moves us forward. We should read it, meditate on it, pray it, memorize it, and allow the Holy Spirit to breathe life into it. I have felt personally convicted about this. I have prayed, “Lord, forgive me. I am not spending enough time in Your Word. I need more.” Begin with prayer and communion with the Father, then spend time in Scripture. Whatever our maturity, we must continue to desire the pure milk of the Word.
Peter then shifts from the image of a newborn child to that of a building. Jesus is the living stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious. We are also “living stones” being built into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:4–5). He is the elect and precious chief cornerstone, and the one who believes in Him will not be put to shame (1 Peter 2:6–8).
To those who believe, Jesus is precious. In Him, we are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people,” called to proclaim the praises of the One who brought us out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9 NKJV). Once we were not a people, but now we are the people of God; we had not obtained mercy, but now we have obtained mercy (1 Peter 2:10).
Notice that Peter calls us a holy nation, not a perfect one. A pastor who mentored me when I was young once said, “You know, the minute you walked in the door, the church wasn’t perfect.” I remember thinking, “Well, thanks, Pastor Jim”—but he was right. Peter himself was not perfect, and neither are we. Yet the blood of Christ is so powerful and completely sufficient that God makes us holy in Christ. We wear Christ’s righteousness, holiness, and acceptance before the Father. The Church may be imperfect in practice, but in God’s eyes it remains His holy people, His special treasure.
The Church Was Born in Tumultuous Times
The Church did not begin under easy conditions. After Peter and John healed the lame man in Acts 3, they were arrested and threatened. When they returned to the believers, the Church prayed. Their request was not for a trouble-free life but for courage: “Grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word” (Acts 4:29 NKJV). The place was shaken, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit again, so they spoke God’s Word boldly (Acts 4:29–31).
There has never been a perfect time for the Church. Throughout history, believers have faced opposition, persecution, mockery, and misunderstanding. The Church has often been called peculiar rather than admired as the world’s gem. Yet God still says, “You are a holy nation. You are My special people. You are My treasure.” What distinguishes us is the life of Christ, the presence of the Spirit, and the righteousness God has given us.
Jesus said people would recognize His disciples by their love for one another (John 13:35). That does not mean we agree on everything or see every issue the same way. It means our common life in Christ is stronger than the differences that might divide us. Jesus is the chief cornerstone. He is the living stone; we are living stones. As we set aside lesser divisions and join other believers in prayer, we become a spiritual house capable of making a difference in our generation.
Opposition did not scatter their hearts; it united their voices.
The early believers shared their lives. “All who believed were together” (Acts 2:44 NKJV). They gathered in the temple and from house to house. They ate together, prayed together, worshiped together, and cared for one another. Their unity was centered on Christ, prayer, community, and mission.
I enjoy being outdoors, especially sitting around a campfire. A properly tended fire can be mesmerizing, whether it is in the wilderness or in a backyard fire pit on a winter evening. Its strength comes from coals gathered together. Remove one coal and set it off by itself, and it gradually loses its heat. Coals that remain together burn more brightly.
Isolation weakens spiritual purpose; Spirit-filled community strengthens it.
The danger of isolation is not merely spiritual. Sociologists have conducted studies comparing chronic loneliness and social isolation, concluding that loneliness is as detrimental as smoking fifteen cigarettes a day. Loneliness has become so widespread that technology companies now offer conversational AI devices, particularly for older adults, designed simply to give someone a voice to talk with. Whatever we conclude about the ethics or usefulness of those devices, their existence reveals something undeniable: people need socialization.
Community is good, though it can also be painful. That is precisely why we must resist the impulse to withdraw when pressure mounts. When difficulty arrives, do you isolate yourself, or draw closer to your spiritual community? You may not be able to confide in everyone, but you need someone with whom you can pray, speak honestly, listen, and walk through life together.
Our need for unity became painfully clear during the COVID years. In decades of pastoring, it was one of the most difficult seasons I had experienced. People divided over masks, vaccines, politics, and competing opinions. Members on one side of a congregation pointed fingers at those on the other. Churches—including ours—were wounded, and many are still recovering.
Yet when I look across our congregation today and see people of different skin colors, social and economic backgrounds, histories, and perspectives, I see the Church for which Jesus died. I do not care whom you vote for; serve Jesus Christ. I have political opinions, too, but political identification will not build the Church or transform the world. The pages of Scripture do not present the body of Christ as either Democrat or Republican. Revival will not flourish in a church consumed by arguments over nonessentials.
We must recover the ability to have healthy conversations. Do not corner people, demand to know how they vote, or force them to see things your way. Listen. Speak. Stay open. You may still disagree, but refuse the divisive spirit that has marked so much of our public life. I want to spend the rest of my pastoral years building unity rather than letting divisiveness define the Church.
The Church Represents God’s Kingdom
Jesus demonstrated God’s Kingdom by healing, delivering, forgiving, and restoring people. He also declared, “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18 NKJV). Jesus will not be defeated, and the Church, remaining centered on Him, will not be defeated. When we close the door to divisiveness and the enemy’s schemes, the Church stands strong and advances against the powers of darkness.
The Church is the body of Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit to reflect God’s nature, authority, love, and family on earth. When we gather, we are not merely attending an event. We are participating in God’s Kingdom family, culture, and mission.
Peter and the early Church understood that Jesus preached the gospel of the Kingdom—the good news that God’s reign and dominion had drawn near. The preaching of Jesus and the apostles was set within the context of God’s Kingdom. In Matthew’s Gospel alone, “the kingdom of God” or “the kingdom of heaven” appears nearly fifty-two times, whereas Jesus uses the word church only twice.
The first occurrence is in Matthew 16:18. Peter has confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and Jesus declares that He will build His Church upon this revealed truth. The second is in Matthew 18:17, in the context of pursuing restoration when a brother or sister sins: first go to the person, then—if the matter is serious and remains unresolved—bring others and ultimately tell it to the church.
In both places, the Greek word translated as church is ekklesia, meaning a calling out or an assembly. Some early Greek uses referred to citizens called out to serve in a governing assembly and help address a city’s affairs. In that sense, the Church consists of God’s called-out people. We are commissioned not only to preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations, but also—carefully understood—to help “legislate” heaven’s affairs on earth.
That does not mean controlling people or legislating our preferred political agenda as God’s agenda. Our perspective can become distorted, especially when political power enters the picture. Jesus did not tell us to dominate; He told us to pray, love, and make disciples.
Look at what Jesus revealed heaven’s affairs to be. He loved people and welcomed those dismissed as sinners. He touched lepers, opened blind eyes and deaf ears, healed the sick, delivered the oppressed, preached good news, forgave sin, and even raised the dead. In every act, He revealed the Father’s love and His desire to restore, heal, and renew creation.
The Great Commission in Matthew 28:18–20 brings together the earlier commissions of Jesus: go, proclaim the gospel, heal the sick, and teach disciples to obey everything He commanded. We are His representatives on earth, not His enforcers. One of the darkest periods in Church history came when armies were sent during the Crusades to fight and coerce others in the name of Christianity. That is not how the Kingdom advances.
We represent heaven through prayer and love, preaching the gospel, healing the sick, helping the poor, freeing the oppressed, and extending God’s mercy and compassion. Every healing, every deliverance, every act of mercy, and every practical kindness toward someone downtrodden reveals the nature of the Father and His Kingdom.
Prayer is essential, but it must lead to obedience. If we only pray and never act, something is missing. There is a “go” in the gospel and a “go” that follows prayer. The answer is not to withdraw from people in a quest to appear holy, as some monastic movements have done. We must pray—and then walk out the door, mingle with people, and carry Christ’s presence into the world.
Living Stones Are Built Together
The Church is not the fullness of God’s Kingdom, but it is an important representation of it. It is Christ’s spiritual body, empowered by the Holy Spirit to live and function in union with Jesus and in relationship with one another.
Peter’s word for “chosen” in 1 Peter 2:9 is the Greek eklektos, which shares a root with ekklesia. It denotes one selected from a larger group for special service or privilege. Believers are recipients of God’s favor and are called to serve. Favor is for a purpose. God has made us His special treasure not to become proud, but to carry His grace, mercy, Word, and Spirit-given authority into the world.
The New Testament presents genuine Christianity through two inseparable realities: union with the person of Christ and fellowship with the body of Christ. As theologian Dale Moody put it, “Christianity is a community of faith centered around the person of Christ.” A single stone may be useful, but stones fitted together form a house. God is not merely gathering isolated believers. Across the globe and through the ages, He is building a spiritual people.
Every believer belongs to the family of God and is a citizen of heaven (see 1 Corinthians 12:13; Philippians 3:20). But it can be healthier to describe a local congregation as a faith community rather than to burden it with every expectation we attach to the word “family”. Families can be dysfunctional, and family members disappoint one another. Someone may leave one local congregation without ceasing to belong to God’s universal family.
My brother and sister-in-law encountered this more than thirty years ago, after coming to Christ in San Diego. They joined a congregation that gradually revealed controlling patterns and strange doctrine. They were eventually told that if they left that church, they would no longer be Christians. That is not a healthy community. No local church owns a believer’s relationship with Christ.
The family of God extends beyond a single congregation and across denominational lines—Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, Protestant, and every community that truly confesses Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. I was raised Catholic, and years later I asked a Catholic theologian friend how her church regarded me now that I was a Protestant minister. Smiling, she called me “a beloved brother soon to come home.” She was joking, but the exchange captured something important: all who belong to Christ are part of His family.
A local church is a community where God places us for a season to worship, grow, pray, serve, and pursue His mission together. Some people come from elsewhere; some will eventually go elsewhere. We should value commitment without resorting to control.
We also have to let go of unrealistic expectations. People in church will eventually fall short of them because none of us is perfect. We can imagine that a “real” faith community must gather for intense prayer three times a week, require everyone to serve in a formal role, or conform to a particular culture. Those demands quickly become unhealthy.
I learned this as a young Christian in one of the first Protestant churches I attended. Leaders told me I needed three-piece suits. At a minimum, I needed a suit on Sunday, a shirt and tie on Wednesday night, and a shirt and tie for Thursday night evangelism. I had been in the military, so I replied, “Okay, I guess that is what we do in church,” and bought the suits. I still enjoy a good tie—though perhaps not in the Arizona heat—but clothing rules are not the heart of Christian community. We are not called to control one another. We are called to love one another and give one another room to grow.
Freedom does not eliminate accountability. “Encourage one another daily…so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (Hebrews 3:13 NIV). Community offers both encouragement and loving correction. We need people who are permitted to strengthen us, tell us the truth, and help us remain tender toward God.
Who has permission to encourage, correct, and strengthen you in your walk with Christ?
Community also helps us keep our hope fixed on what matters most. Jesus promised the restoration of all things (Matthew 19:28–29), and Scripture teaches that no one knows the day or hour of His return (Matthew 24:36). He will come again; His Kingdom will have no end (Luke 1:33). God will make all things new—a new heaven and a new earth where tears and sorrow are gone (Revelation 21:1–5).
We all have “bucket lists.” I would love to go to Alaska, fish for every kind of salmon, and try my hand at halibut fishing, too. My wife may reasonably ask what we are going to do while I am planning all that fishing! There is nothing wrong with dreams like those. But if our hope depends on completing every item, disappointment can make the heart sick, as Proverbs 13:12 warns. Jesus is the anchor of our hope. Our ultimate future is life with Him. Because we will be one family in eternity, we should not allow temporary gray areas to divide us now.
Prayerful Community Breaks Chains
When Herod imprisoned Peter, “constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church” (Acts 12:5 NKJV). God sent an angel, Peter’s chains fell off, and he walked free. There are times when the Church must rise together in prayer and obedience, trusting God to accomplish what no individual can accomplish alone.
United in prayer, we partner with the Lord to welcome more of His manifest presence into our lives, our gatherings, and even our cities and regions. Have you ever called someone to ask for prayer? The prayer of agreement is powerful. When pressure comes, we need people who will stand with us, and others need us to stand faithfully with them.
Who needs your faithful prayer, encouragement, or pursuit in this season?
Every Believer Has a Role
We will not reach full maturity by occasionally attending worship services as passive spectators. Christian maturity becomes visible in relationships. Surveys indicate that roughly 83 percent of Americans identify as Christian, while regular church participation is dramatically lower—in some coastal regions, reportedly near 5 percent. Whatever the precise numbers in a given year or region, the pastoral concern remains: many who profess Christianity are disconnected from a local church, lack a biblical worldview, and struggle to thrive in their walk with God.
Ephesians 4:16 NLT says that Christ fits His whole body together perfectly. Each part performs its own work, helping the other parts grow until the entire body is healthy, growing, and full of love. Maturity requires participation—not coercion, but willing, relational involvement.
More than fifty times in the New Testament, believers are told to act toward “one another” or “each other.” We are commanded to love, pray for, encourage, admonish, serve, teach, accept, submit to, honor, and forgive one another. These commands cannot be practiced in isolation. Interdependent relationships require regular time together—worshiping, praying, studying, serving, and sharing life, even when we do not feel like it. That does not mean no one may miss a Sunday. It means we intentionally participate in both larger gatherings and smaller circles of fellowship. Together, we are better.
The Holy Spirit gives every believer a meaningful role: “The manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all” (1 Corinthians 12:7 NKJV). Our abilities, ministries, and spiritual gifts are not merely for personal fulfillment. They are given to strengthen the body and advance God’s purposes. The local church offers a place to discover, develop, and use those gifts through worship, prayer, fellowship, and service.
Are you merely consuming church, or are you using your gifts to help build God’s family?
We Are Sent Together
Jesus commissioned His followers to “make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19 NKJV). We carry His love into the world together, serving as His hands, feet, eyes, and heart.
Kingdom purpose is not a solo assignment. We go farther when we worship together, pray together, serve together, and carry the gospel together.
I have seen that power in our own congregation. We planted the church nearly twenty-five years ago and have been on our current property since 2004. Over those years, we have maintained a food-pantry ministry alongside other missions and outreach efforts. In the early days, Carolyn and I loaded our van and delivered supplies ourselves. Today, Community Food Bank trucks deliver pallets, volunteers bring and collect food, and a growing team works together every week.
On some Thursdays, 125 to 150 people come through the line. Some are regular guests, and some are new. We often run out of food, but watching new leaders and volunteers serve with generosity and inclusiveness blesses my soul. It is a visible picture of what community can accomplish when people bring their diverse roles together.
There have also been seasons when people prayer-walked through the surrounding neighborhoods and invited residents into community. Rob and Shelley lead the “Outside the Walls” outreach group, and I long to see that outward mission grow. Bob and Joanie have led Wednesday-night prayer from 6:30 to 7:30, sometimes with only four or five people. No one has to “sign their life away” to participate; what if each of us came once in a while?
This invitation is especially important for younger believers. The gray-haired saints are getting grayer. Families are busy, and demands are real, but if another generation does not learn to cultivate a Kingdom culture where prayer is central, the distinctive work God began here will not be carried forward. This church was birthed in prayer. Its future life requires people who will pray, build, and serve together.
Any local expression of Christ’s body can end, even as the universal Church endures. If this congregation disappeared tomorrow, believers would still belong to God’s family and could find other churches. But if we value the particular calling God has given this community—including a willingness to pray for healing, to serve the poor, and to reach beyond our walls—then we must work together to sustain it.
That includes loving one another, serving, praying, and giving. Some give what they can, like the widow who offered her two small coins (Mark 12:41–44; Luke 21:1–4). Others, with greater capacity, give generously. Each of us can honestly ask the Lord, “Could I do more? Could I help?” God is in charge, but He has chosen to work through His people. We are His hands and feet.
More Than Casual Connection
The early Church was not merely a program but a community of believers. They ate, prayed, suffered, and celebrated together. We should celebrate one another’s victories and breakthroughs. Their unity grew from a shared relationship with Christ and a shared mission in the world.
This is not a time for casual connection or spiritual isolation. Be planted among God’s people. Gather consistently. Pray faithfully. Serve with your gifts. Encourage others. Help restore those who are wandering. Carry Christ’s love into the world. Kingdom purpose is fulfilled through communities of believers united in love, rooted in prayer, and sent together into the harvest.
The aim is not to condemn or shame anyone. It is to provoke us—in the best sense—to go deeper into Christ and into community. Jesus Himself prayed that His people would be one (John 17). He desires to answer that prayer.
A Prayer for the Church
Father, unite us. Grant us a shared vision for Your Church and our community. Holy Spirit, breathe upon the body of Christ again. Where there is weariness, release supernatural strength. Where faith has ebbed, awaken fresh faith, fire, and vision for what You have done in history and what You can do again.
Teach us to pray with expectation that people will be saved, lives transformed, disciples made, the sick healed, the poor served, and widows helped. Teach us to value and honor one another despite our differing views. Keep us from casual connections and divisive opinions. Make us one in Christ—living stones built together, a praying people filled with Your Spirit and sent together for Your purpose. Amen.
