HAVERIM: Covenant Life in Community

HAVERIM: Covenant Life in Community 

Beloved Saint of God…

Let’s take a trip, you and I. Come on…let’s exercise the powers of imagination and journey back to 1st century Israel. I wonder what Believers looked like then — compared to now! How did they live? How did they relate to each other? Take this article, grab your Bible, your favorite beverage, find a comfy place to sit, cue up your favorite worship music…the soaking kind (smile), curl up, deep breath…let’s go! First we need to…

Reconsider Solitude

• As you sip your beverage, close your eyes and picture…imagine the 1^st painting or image of Jesus that pops into your head. Stay there for a few seconds…
• What do you see? Jesus in a solitary place, praying in Gethsemane, or holding a lamb, or nailed to the cross…?
• Many artists have portrayed Jesus as a solitary and lonely man. So when we close our eyes and imagine Him, that’s what we see!
• Sure, Jesus did have times of solitude that are described for us in Scripture.   See Mark 1.35, Luke 4. 1-13
• Because of this – many Believers try to imitate Christ by seeking solitude
• This can be helpful – but what about community??

Consider this…

• If the goal of discipleship is to become Christlike, then we must spend time with other disciples, learning how to love and be loved and letting our roughs edges be sanded away
• We need to learn to tolerate each other’s flaws and to admit our own so that Christ’s Spirit can refine and reshape us! This happens in community!
• For some of us – being alone is an escape from embracing people who annoy or challenge us!! Consider Jesus’ words in Matt. 18.20!!

“For where two or three are assembled in My name, there I am in their midst.”

As Westerners, we forget or fail to consider what Jesus’ reality was like on any given day. Close your eyes again and this time see Jesus surrounded by people like you and me:

• Most of His ministry was spent living side by side with his faithful Talmidim (Hebrew for Disciples)
• He traveled with them on foot from town to town. Imagine that! Walking everywhere! Dusty sandals! Sore feet! Tired legs. Hungry. Thirsty. Singing. Praying. Arguing. Discussing the Tanakh (Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures).
• They camped out everywhere they went…sleeping on the ground! (You’ve had it pretty easy, wouldn’t you say)
• Jesus spent many evenings sharing a meal with strangers who had generously invited them into their homes, as was the custom with visiting rabbis! Did you get that? There were people who generously opened their homes to Jesus and His 12 Talmidim, plus the women (female disciples) that traveled with Him! Hmmm…
• Even when Jesus made a point of getting away from the clamorous crowds – He usually did so with His disciples
• And – He never sent His students out alone—but always in pairs! Team! Team! Team!
• He knew their critical need for haverim! Haverim are study partners! They are the people you keep company with, wresting over the scriptures, praying together, growing in the faith! Your ‘haverim’ are your faith-friends! They are the ‘small-group’ you fellowship with! All Believers need to be a ‘haver’ and have their own ‘haverim!’
• Wait! Let’s not rush pass that! Jesus knew that we ALL NEED TO BE AND HAVE HAVERIM (SMALL GROUP PARTNERS IN THE FAITH)! We were created for COVENANT COMMUNITY — for covenant relationship(s)!
• Jesus loved the company of others! He was frequently found with children, at parties, hanging out with tax collectors and sinners

Following Jesus means sharing our lives in community

where the richness of life unfolds!

Don’t misunderstand me — Time Alone With God – away from the crazy pressures of daily life, can help us discern the still, small voice of God:

• So…do take time to nurture an intimate private devotional life with Christ! BUT – do not make solitude the norm! See Gen. 2.18
• Instead, let’s look for opportunities to “connect” with others in meaningful ways

Note: This is crucial in a world that seems to be spiraling in on itself, with people becoming more isolated…more “self” focused, selfish, selfies…etc. Many people work in cubicles, in front of computers all day, zoning out in front of the TV, Podcasts, headphones and iTunes, XBox, etc.

Americans, culturally — are some of the loneliest people on the planet! Our individualism and our wealth have allowed us to minimize our contact with others — to our detriment.

• We don’t call or visit each other any more, we just text…
• In church we sit together and sing together and half greet one another as we leave at the end of a service – sometimes for years, without forming any real personal Christian relationships!
• Church has become the place where ‘Christians’ live alone together!!!
• Christ intended for us to relate to each other and befriend one another in deeper ways! Did you get that? In DEEPER WAYS!!!

Let’s Become Haverim!

It is easy to become close to others when you spend time together in community, in struggle, in joy and pain, in praise and worship, discussing God’s Word and praying for each other! 

• BUT — get this —there needs to be more to being a ‘haver’ than just being a Christian friend!
• A haver is a fellow disciple who earnestly desires to grapple with others over issues of faith — someone who wants to delve into God’s Word, to be challenged and refined
• A haver is like a spiritual jogging partner or Crossfit WOD buddy– someone for whom you will crawl out of bed on a rainy morning putting on your Nike Metcon’s or Reebok Nano’s, sliding into your Capri Workout gear, shifting into ‘beast mode’ — instead of hitting the snooze button and burying your head under covers
• A haver pushes you spiritually and intellectually — forcing you to grow!
• It is not a casual commitment! It requires stretching!
• A haver carves out time for preparation and study, wrestling with the Scripture text beforehand so that they have something to share when the haverim come together
• Also – you can not be a good haver if you hold onto an extreme sense of privacy about spiritual matters! Haverim need to learn to trust one another, openly expressing their thoughts and feelings, confident that what is shared within the group will not go beyond the group. They ‘pastor/shepherd’ one another in the faith!
• They must also learn the art of ‘respectful disagreement’ – challenging each other when necessary — because healthy debate, wrestling with faith was a normal part of the life of disciples, an essential way to learn! 

Becoming each other’s ‘Haverim’ in small group settings is Bible — it’s New Testament, its judeo-christian — and it is an effective way to fulfill Jesus’ command to raise up disciples!

• We can help others grow by learning right alongside them!
• There are many ‘Believers’ in the ‘body of Christ’ who are not lost (they are in the sheep pen but just off on the side munching on grass occasionally) – they just need to be brought closer to Christ where they can learn how to be better disciples!!
• Becoming a haver opens ones life to becoming a powerful witness through honesty and authenticity!

Practical Application

1. If you don’t have study partners, peer shepherds, true haverim – ask the Lord to send you one/some! If you are married – perhaps you can start with your spouse. Then, look for someone in your church, neighborhood, on the job, or amongst your circle of friends who shares your interest in Scripture. Make sure that your haver is someone capable of challenging you to go deeper rather than someone who will simply agree with everything you say. Remember – debate is a helpful method for learning!
2. Consider holding a havruta, a study session, SMALL GROUP/LIFE GROUP in your home — in connection with your church. Watch for upcoming training opportunities to be equipped to shepherd/lead a Havruta ~ small group/LIFE Group!
3. The next time you read the Bible, try to relate to the Israelites as though they are part of your own family –— your aunts, uncles, siblings, or parents. How does your emotional reaction change when you consider the people in the stories as “us” instead of “them”?
4. Have lunch with friends and invite folk to share how a passage of scripture has worked in their lives, especially during hard times. 

Just sayin…

Pastor Bernardine Wormley Daniels

Shekinah Apostolic Team