Francis Chan is the pastor who wrote Crazy Love, Beloved and Letters to the Church.
In 1994 he started a church out in southern California. Just a few people in a living room. Then it grew. And grew. By 2010, thousands came every weekend.
Then he walked away. No scandal. Everyone asked why.
Here’s what convicted him. He looked out at all those people and saw what was really happening.
Sunday after Sunday, they all came to watch one man use his gift. They came to see him. And everyone sat and listened.
But this really gnawed at him. Every one of them had a gift too. A talent that went underdeveloped or unused.
So he left the megachurch he had founded to start something new.
Somewhere everyone has a part to play. Somewhere everyone belongs. A place where everyone serves. Everyone grows. Everyone is known.
That is the underlying question. Is belonging coming to watch someone else? Or is belonging taking part yourself?
Hold that thought.
Because long before that church in California, there was another one. It started small too. And it multiplied fast. But not by any one man. Instead, by everyone taking part.
Bigger Than the Upper Room
It started with just twelve. Jesus chose twelve. This is where the church began.
His followers go back to Jerusalem after the ascension. Back up to the room where they were staying.
The women are with them. Mary. Jesus’ brothers. All of them devoting themselves to prayer.
By the end of Acts 1, the twelve had grown to about 120.
Then the day of Pentecost comes. The Spirit falls and fills the house where they were sitting. But it doesn’t stay in the house. It spills out.
A multitude comes together. From every nation under heaven. Parthians, Medes, Elamites. Egypt, Libya, Rome. Cretans and Arabians.
Luke could have summed it up in a word. Instead, he lists them. He wants us to feel the reach.
And each one hears in his own language. Not a translation. But his own tongue. The mighty works of God, in the language each was born into.
They’re amazed. “What does this mean?”
Well, if you go back to Babel in Genesis 11, people built a tower to make a name for themselves. God came down, confused their language, and scattered them over the earth.
That day, the confusion of our languages divided us. It was judgment.
But now in Acts 2, what does the Holy Spirit do? He fills the room, and every nation hears one gospel, each in his own tongue.
The very thing that scattered us, God uses to gather us back. It’s Babel, running backwards.
And here’s the other thing it means. Peter stands up with the eleven and preaches to the crowd. By the end of that one day, 3000 more are added to the 120.
Twelve. A hundred and twenty. Three thousand. In a single chapter, the body of Christ outgrew every room you could put it in.
That’s by design. It was always going to. Jesus said so in John 10. “Other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also.”
Notice He says “I have other sheep.” Present tense. He already has them. They were never outsiders. They were His all along, in another fold.
Many folds. One flock. One Shepherd. He was gathering more than the room could see.
And look how it ends. Revelation 5. A new song. Ransomed for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
The upper room becomes a kingdom. And that kingdom fills the earth. Belonging is bigger than the upper room.
And in a very real sense, we are the other sheep. None of us was in that upper room. None of us speaks the language Peter preached that morning.
We are about as far from that upstairs room in Jerusalem as you can get. In miles. In years. But the good news still reached us.
It reached us because they left Jerusalem, and brought the gospel with them. For two thousand years, somebody kept carrying it. Beyond the walls of the upper room. Beyond the city border. Beyond the province. Until it reached you and I.
When Jesus said “I must bring them also,” He was talking about us.
Discussion
- Twelve, then a hundred and twenty, then three thousand in one chapter. The church outgrew every room. Where do you catch yourself picturing belonging as a room to sit in rather than a mission to carry?
- Jesus said “I have other sheep, I must bring them also,” and Peter’s gospel reached us because someone kept carrying it. Who carried it to you, and who are you carrying it to?
Key Takeaways
- Many folds. One flock. One Shepherd. Gathered out of every nation, across every fold, all the way to His throne.
- He calls us to go make disciples. Beyond the upper room. Beyond the local fellowship.
Doing Life Together
So belonging is that wide. Past this room, past every border, all the way to the throne.
But watch what happens next. The same chapter that reaches the nations turns to the dinner table. The faith that spans the earth gets lived house to house, and day by day.
Notice what Luke repeats. Day by day, he says in verse 46. Day by day again in verse 47.
Day by day they met. Day by day the Lord added to their number. Not just the first day of the week. Day by day.
And look where they met. Not just the temple. House to house. Around each other’s tables. With glad and generous hearts.
This was not a service they attended. It was a life they shared.
Where does a life like that come from? The whole Bible is the story of God closing the distance.
In the beginning, He walked with us in the garden. Then came sin, and we were put outside. But God would not leave it there.
Even in the wilderness He said, “Make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.” And He moved into a tent, right in the middle of the camp.
John says it plainly. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. That word “dwelt” is the word for pitching a tent.
The God of the tabernacle now pitches His tent in flesh and blood.
And it doesn’t stop there. In Revelation 21 and 22, John says: “The dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them… They will see his face.”
From the garden… to the tent… to the Word made flesh… to eternity with Him. The whole story runs one direction. Toward us.
Presence is not a theme in this book. It is the theme. It’s how God’s love has always moved.
So presence is how ours moves too. He came near to us. We come near to one another.
And here is the gift. Whenever we gather, He is in our midst. Every time we share a table, we are rehearsing forever.
That’s why Hebrews calls us to keep it up. Keep meeting. Keep stirring each other toward love and good works. All the more as the Day draws near.
The Day the dwelling is finished, and He is with us for good.
Belonging and discipleship involves doing life together.
Discussion
- Luke says “day by day,” house to house, not just Sunday. What would “day by day” belonging actually look like in your week?
- The whole story runs one direction, toward us: garden, tent, Word made flesh, forever. He drew near first. Where is He asking you to close the distance with someone the way He closed it with you?
Key Takeaways
- Not just Sunday to Sunday. Belonging is a life we share throughout the week. Not just an event we attend.
- Draw near to one another. He did first. Being together, face to face, is how we grow. It’s how God’s love moves through us.
Belonging Depends on Us All
Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 (ESV)
So belonging is vast, and belonging is daily. Bigger than the upper room, and as near as the kitchen table. But a life like that takes many hands, as we’ll see next.
We just watched a shared life. The apostles’ teaching. The fellowship. The breaking of bread. The prayers. Glad and generous hearts… so no one went without.
Stop and ask who carried all of that. Some taught. Some opened a home. Some prepared the meal. Some prayed. Some gave.
The local gathering didn’t run on its own. It took every one of them. And the life we want takes every one of us.
Paul has a picture for this. The church is a body. One body, many parts.
Now watch what he does with it. He gives the quiet members a voice.
The foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body.” The ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong.”
That is the voice in your own head. You say, well I’m not at the front of the room. I’m not gifted like him or her.
Hear Paul’s answer. That won’t make you any less a part of the body.
The feeling that you don’t belong does not change the fact that you do. You can tell yourself that lie all day. The body is still yours.
Because look who did the placing. “God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.”
You are not here by accident. He put you here. On purpose. In this spot.
Your place in His body is by design. And sometimes, it takes time to develop.
And here is the part we miss. “The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.”
The very ones who feel least needed, He calls the ones we cannot do without. Not the loudest. Not the most visible. The quiet ones. Indispensable.
So no one gets to opt out. And no one gets to look at another and say, “I have no need of you.” You belong. So does the person next to you.
So what do we do with that? “You are the body of Christ, and individually members of it.”
And to the body He gives gifts. Some to teach. Some to lead. Some to help. Some to share a friendly greeting.
“Earnestly desire the higher gifts,” Paul says. Not to admire them. To train them. To develop them. To use them.
That is the call. Discover your gift. Put it to work.
You may not know your gift yet. That is all right. You find it by serving, not by waiting until you feel ready.
And here is how the body grows up. “When each part is working properly, it builds itself up in love.”
From every joint. We are formed. We help form and build up one another, by each doing our part.
Belonging depends on us all. You already belong. He arranged it.
So find your gift. Train it. Develop it. Use it. Discipleship depends on each one of us.
Discussion
- Paul says the parts that seem weaker are “indispensable,” and God placed each member on purpose. Whose quiet part in this body have you overlooked? Or has yours been overlooked?
- Paul says to “earnestly desire the higher gifts,” and that you find your gift by serving, not by waiting until you feel ready. What is one way you could start taking part, before you feel ready?
Key Takeaways
- You already belong. There are no spare parts. God arranged each member as He chose. You aren’t here by accident.
- Discover your gift and use it. The body builds itself up when each part functions and does its part.
Something to Sit With
So let’s pull it all together.
Belonging is wider than this room. It reaches every nation, all the way to the throne.
Belonging is nearer than Sunday. It is a life we share, day by day.
And belonging needs you. The body has no spare parts, and no spectators.
Go back to where we started. Francis Chan walked away from thousands because they all came to watch one man.
You did not come here to watch. You came because you already belong. And the body needs what God put in you.
Take a few questions home with you. No need to answer them out loud.
- Where have you believed the lie that you don’t belong?
- What has God placed in you that this body needs?
- Where is He calling you to stop watching, and take part?
Here is the ground under all of it. He drew near to us first. He gave us gifts. He arranged the body, each of us, on purpose.
You belong. So find your gift, and take your place.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to belong to the body of Christ?
It means you’re joined to Christ, and through him, to everyone else who is his. Not a club you sign up for. A body you’re part of. Paul’s picture is one body, many parts (1 Cor 12:12). The moment you trust Christ, you’re in, placed there by God, “each one of them, as he chose” (1 Cor 12:18).
So belonging is not something you earn by being useful, or by finally feeling like you fit. It’s already true of you. You don’t earn your place. You were given one.
What if I feel like I don’t belong?
Paul heard that voice too. The foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body” (1 Cor 12:15). The ear says the same thing.
And Paul’s answer is blunt. That does not make it any less a part of the body. The feeling that you don’t belong does not change the fact that you do. You can tell yourself that lie all day. The body is still yours.
God arranged the members, “each one of them, as he chose” (1 Cor 12:18). You’re not here by accident, and you’re not here on trial. He put you here on purpose.
What did the early church actually do together?
Four things, and Luke names them plainly. They “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42).
Then notice how often. Day by day (Acts 2:46). Not once a week. And notice where. House to house, around each other’s tables, with glad and generous hearts.
This was not a service they attended. It was a life they shared. Belonging in Acts is not a Sunday event. It’s a shared life.
Do I really need other Christians, or can I follow Jesus on my own?
You can, the way a hand can work while it’s cut off from the arm. Not for long, and not the way it was made to.
Paul says the eye cannot tell the hand, “I have no need of you” (1 Cor 12:21). That runs both ways. The body needs you, and you need the body.
This is not a rule to make you feel guilty for a missed Sunday. It’s how God designed the life to work. He drew near to us. We draw near to one another (Heb 10:24-25). You were not made to follow Jesus alone. You were made for a body.
How do I find my spiritual gift?
By serving, not by waiting until you feel ready. Paul says “earnestly desire the higher gifts” (1 Cor 12:31), and you can’t desire what you never reach for.
You don’t take a test to find your gift. You start helping, and it shows. Some teach. Some open a home. Some pray. Some carry the quiet load nobody notices. Try things. Ask the people who know you what they see in you.
And remember it’s a gift, handed out by the Spirit “as he wills” (1 Cor 12:11), not a prize you earn. You find it the same way you use it. In the body, for others.
I’m not up front or especially gifted. Does my part matter?
More than you know. Paul says the parts “that seem to be weaker are indispensable” (1 Cor 12:22). Read that again. Not tolerated. Not nice to have. Indispensable. The ones who feel least needed are the ones the body cannot do without.
God does not measure your part by how visible it is. He arranged you where he wanted you (1 Cor 12:18). The quiet greeter, the one who prays, the one who sets up the chairs. The body does not hold together without them.
There are no spare parts. There’s just your part, and the body needs it.
This lesson is part of the Life Together series.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway.