Not feeling connected here at EFree? I want to offer you a reason that might surprise you. But first, let me review how we shape our church life: First, the Sunday Worship Celebration. I will assume that you come at least twice a month, and that this is not a problem for you. But we also consider the 9 am Life Training Classes a part of Sunday, and an important part - the...

Where is God glorified most in the life of our church? I would argue that he is often most glorified in Community Groups. To explain, I quote John Piper, on the "diverse excellencies" of Jesus: "we admire him for his glory, but even more because his glory is mingled with humility; we admire him for his transcendence, but even more because his transcendence is accompanie...

There are three common characteristics of Community or Discipleship Groups or friendships that are faithful and useful and healthy over the long-term: • Deliberately Gospeled • Attentive Friendship • Consistently Missional:...

The fact of community, and the mode of community, are two different things in the church. This is different from the world, where we pursue a mode of community - could be Boy Scouts, Rotary, or just being neighborly - because we think that will create community. But God reverses that order in the church. We are already a community, created by Him, by uniting us by faith to...

Meals have meaning. When you welcome someone to your dinner table, you act in a rich ritual, one “thick” with meaning. This meaning is heightened and made more clear in Christ....

Last week I mentioned the purpose of discipleship groups: to attend to one another's souls. How do we do this? In short, it is Christian friendship. A friend is one who cares for you enough to help you get what you need most, even when it's not easy or pleasant. What do we need most? Think about that for a moment. What we think we need most is the need we project on others...