Together In One Place



Johnny Carson was late night television for so many years. And there will never be another like him. So says Chuck Klosterman. Klosterman writes on music, television, and culture for New York Times magazine. The reason Johnny Carson was important was not because he was funny or clever or cool, though he was all of those things. The reason he was important was because he was the last universally shared icon of modern popular culture. Everybody watched Carson. Even if you didn’t own a tv you watched Carson or knew about him. It was a piece of information that all Americans had in common. To care about Johnny Carson, all you had to do was be alive.

That could never happen today. There will never again be “cultural knowledge” that everybody knows, mostly because there is simply too much culture to know about. If you ask somebody, “Did you watch that show the other night.?” Most likely they will say no. Because they were watching something else. I get four thousand channels now on my satellite. Everybody is watching something else. It’s like I used to ask my friend Jim, “Did you ever read such and such. . .” I asked him that question different times until he finally said to me one day, “If the question begins, did you ever read. . .then answer is no.”

Culture no longer unites us the way it once may have. And that may be a sad thing. But there is a bright lining – culture couldn’t really change us much for the good anyway. There is something more powerful that can bind people together into community.

“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. . .and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2.1-4


The Holy Spirit brings unity. And unity is the better of half of community. The Apostle Paul compares to the church a the human body. When the body is working correctly, it is a beautiful thing to behold. All the parts are in place, functioning the right way. When the body is not united, it is not a pretty picture. When one thing breaks down, other parts suffer. The whole body suffers. The church begins to look like Mr. Potato Head as put together by a two year old.

How does the Holy Spirit bring us together in community?

We all come to the same place for the same purpose. How often can you say that about anything? We live in different places. We work all over the place. We eat, play, and shop at different places on a twenty-four cycle. But on Sabbath day, we all come together in one place to love God. It is so unique and compelling an idea that God shows up just to see for himself.

The Spirit gives us a new identity. I am no longer just a member of my biological family with the last name Morris. I am no longer just a resident of a certain town. I am no longer just the sum total of my bad deeds and good deeds. The Spirit calls me out of darkness into Light. I am a new person. I am baptized. That’s my name. When I get depressed over my failures, the Spirit lifts me up. The story is told of how when Martin Luther was despondent, he would touch his forehead and say, “I have been baptized,” by which he meant, I belong, by God’s grace, to Jesus Christ, and nothing can undo this truth.

The Spirit of Jesus Christ makes us like God who is three in One. God wants us to be one like He is one. If we are one, we will be a great witness to the world. If we are divided, our witness will suffer.

Jesus prayed, “May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You. May they also be one in Us, so the world may believe you sent Me.” John 17.21


One of the most compelling stories in sports in the last fifty years is the story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team. They were a bunch of college amateurs who went up against the mighty Soviets and beat them. Nobody had given them a chance. The Soviets had just beaten an NHL all star team. The U.S. Olympic team was a bunch of no names. It was such a huge upset that it is now referred to as the Miracle on Ice. That name came in part from the now famous call from broadcaster Al Michael’s who screamed, “DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES?”

How did they do it? The movie Miracle tells how coach Herb Brooks coached them into a team. They were guys from all over the country but he wanted them to forget about where they had come from and focus on what they were hoping to achieve. After one lackluster exhibition game, he made the players to a skate around. This is the equivalent of making a football team run laps after already playing a game. It was a defining moment for the team. During the brutal workout, one of the players yelled out, “I play for the United States of America.” With that, Brooks dismissed the players. It was a turning point. The group of individuals became one.

There is no higher allegiance for us than our allegiance to Christ and His Kingdom. So, who do you play for?

The Holy Spirit gives us one vision, one mission.

The Apostle Paul encouraged the church to be “thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal.” Philippians 2.2

This kind of focus brings incredible unity and community.

Our vision is to make disciples and create community. Again, this really goes back to our baptism. We are not our own. We belong to God. It’s not about me. It’s about what God wants, about what God is doing.

“How can I help?” is a question we should ask. How can I be part of this community where the Spirit is at work?

Are you loving God in worship? Have you joined a small group to grow closer to God and closer to each other? Are you serving in ministry?