You see, I had begun to have serious questions in my faith journey, and truthfully I still do. I think that’s okay. Even though my questions are heavy and real, my ability to process them, seek answers, and be transformed by the journey has also developed.

Desi was a huge part of that. One day I sat at his table, eaten up inside with doubt and confusion and finally I just kind of broke. I am not ashamed to admit that I cried as I walked through a piece of paper I had written on with all of the reasons I could think of to stay a Christian, become an atheist, or land on agnosticism somewhere in the middle. I had thought, as those struggling with doubt often do, that my very utterance of the things about God, life, and the Bible that didn’t make sense to me would be enough to cause the complete destruction of my social world.

It wasn’t true. Not even close. Desi and his wonderful wife, Rachel, sat there with me as I cried and vented about how the suffering of the world didn’t align with a God who was loving and all powerful, and how a lack of consistent healings resulting from prayer went against the Bible we all claimed to believe in. They listened as I unpacked how terrified I was to express these doubts and others to my family and friends. After all, I was a leader in the Church and everyone would certainly all be very disappointed in me, at minimum, and shun me, at the worst, if they knew how I was thinking.

I also unpacked how my father (who I love deeply and am partnering with behind the scenes as part of this very podcast) had once told me that God had given him a promise that not only would his kids serve the Lord, but also his children’s children. My father shared this with me, not to be inconsiderate, but because he was trying to share something very comforting he had experienced with those around him.

The effect for me, however, (at least in the short-term) was a dramatic increase in the sense of “pressure” I felt to mentally conform to what I had been taught. I mean, how are you supposed to tell your dad, who you love deeply, that you were considering atheism, after he just told you about this promise he received from God?

Desi was a safe space for me and, as I grew into adulthood, he walked with me through the many deserts and wildernesses I encountered early in my faith journey. He was in the middle of getting a Master’s degree in theology himself, and so the state of current Biblical scholarship and angles I had not yet considered were fresh in his mind. Yet, despite all his knowledge, he didn’t talk over or down to me.

He listened. Deeply and intently. He didn’t interrupt or insist that use gentler language to describe what I saw as the idiocy of certain beliefs or church practices. He just listened and asked me to questions to get me to fully express myself and bring my doubts into the light. When it came time to push back or teach, he did, and we certainly had many intense moments, but the overall result of our conversations wasn’t so much of radical certainty in the beliefs I had been considering casting off, but rather of being validated, seen, and invited into a deeper journey of faith than I previously knew existed.

I believe God ordained our friendship and I will never forget those days out in the sun, working with Desi on clearing brush, building fences, and make sense out of things like textual variants, competing atonement theories, and why God allows certain things to happen.

I hope you enjoy this one conversation with Desi as much as I have been able to enjoy the many the Lord has allowed me to have with him.

With love,

Nathan Marlette

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Following this, we took a break and grabbed some lunch Dr. Brickle was gracious enough to buy me Thai food and as we ate together, I was able to pick his brain about all the richness of his field of study. He explained that our English translations of the Bible often can miss the “Hebraisms” that are native to the original text. This doesn’t alter our essential understanding of the meaning or our ability to discern matters of salvation, but he likened it to looking at a picture in black and white versus seeing in color. The same basic form and understanding can be gleaned from both views, but the “richness” of everything that was intended often becomes obscured in the process of translation.

An example of this type of richness can be found in the concepts of sound mapping and aural coherence. Essentially, this refers to examining a text through the lens of what it sounds like when it is read aloud for the ear, versus just read with the eyes, in order to better understand what the author is trying to emphasize.

This lead us into the conversation that we recorded as Episode 5. We started with a discussion about how many scholars have turned a critical eye towards the Epistle of 1 John, as (apparently) the “quality” of the writing in the original Greek during the opening prologue of the letter leaves quite a bit to be desired. Dr. Brickle, among others has argued that there may instead be “aural design” at play here, rather than simply “bad writing from a crazy old man” or something like that.

I hope you all find this discussion as fascinating as I did! And thanks again for the Thai food, Dr. Brickle. :)

Best regards,

Nathan Marlette

One of the fellow speakers, and resident professor, at the symposium was Dr. Jeff Brickle, a good friend of my family for a long time and a long-time teacher of Greek and Hebrew at UGST. As a child, I never really understood the intricacies of what Jeff studied and worked on (I barely understood what my Dad did for work), but re-engaging with Jeff as an adult opened my eyes to the richness of his world.

Indeed, many might think of the world of ancient language academia would be mundane and full of stuffy offices with dusty books. To be sure, his office was stuffed with books, but the conversations I had with him that weekend were anything but mundane.

Over the course of two conversations (Episodes 4 and 5 of the Reflective Ecclesia podcast) we dove deep into the subjects of his expertise — revolving largely around ancient memory conventions and techniques, understanding the sound mapping approach to the New Testament, and reflections around needs in the modern-day Church.

These were conversations that I deeply enjoyed and benefited from. But beyond that, my talks with Jeff re-awaked a desire to study and teach in academia myself that I hope to one day be able to act upon. The world (and especially the Church) needs more people with the level of knowledge and studiousness of Jeff Brickle.

Thanks again, Jeff, for the wonderful time and I look forward to more conversations in the future. For everyone else, I sincerely hope you enjoy these two episodes!

Much love,

Nathan Marlette

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Although my conversation with Dr. Toombs about the effects of technology on our minds and society had gone swimmingly, I knew this topic only scratched the surface of her expertise. Indeed, Dr. Toombs had apparently made herself a very respected name within the fields surrounding Disability Studies, Medical Humanities, and Philosophy.

Indeed, another book of hers caught my eye, admittedly, first because of the red cover, but a close second was the intriguing title, How Then Should We Die?” (Amazon Link). Another one of her works close by also captured my attention, Living at the Boundary: Healing and Incurable Illness (Amazon Link).

Although I would not personally say that I have encountered a large amount of physical suffering in my life up to this point, I am well aware that the experiences of many around me are quite different. I am also aware that none of us is immortal and that physical decline and suffering are hurdles we all will eventually have to face. Plus, I’ll admit, the subject of death naturally invokes a certain swirling of fear, care, and curiosity within me.

Maybe some of my readers can relate. Or maybe I’m just a psycho. Either way, I believe you will be richly blessed by listening in on my conversation with Dr. Toombs and challenged to reflect about how we as the Church should change how we view each other to create what Dr. Toombs calls, “a culture of healing.”

Best regards,

Nathan Marlette

This will be a short post. I want you to get back to your family. But I also want you to hear from someone else in your family — your spiritual family that is.

I am incredibly grateful for you.

When I think of the Church and all the wonderful people God has placed in my life, it’s true that I think of all the work the Lord wants us to do, but I also think of how special it is that we get to go on this journey together. I think of how wonderful it is to know and be known by such kind and thoughtful friends. And, you know, loving and bonding with my family is pretty good work in and of itself, I think.

May the Lord bless each of you, my family and friends, on this wonderful day. Happy thanksgiving!

-Nathan Marlette

“Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.” (Philippians 1:3 NIV)

It is in no way hyperbolic to state that the pornographic industry has laid its deadly grip tightly on America. The pornographic industry has been strengthened immensely in the recent decades – growing to a multi-multi billion dollar industry. Pornographic material in the form of magazines or videos can not only be easily viewed and purchased in stores, but also freely consumed online. Anyone has access to the most explicit depictions of sexuality (even including graphic child pornography or bestiality) literally within a few clicks.

In 2014, The company Covenant Eyes reported that a staggering 20% of mobile searches and 13% of all internet searches are for erotic content. In 2024, they reported that Pornhub had become the sixth most popular website in the world, boasting of 5.6 billion views. Currently, approximately 61% of the general population (2 out of 3!) report viewing porn, including 78% of men and 44% of women, numbers that have been on a continuous rise (Covenant Eyes, 2025).

However, not only is consumption of erotic content rampant and readily accessible, it is also being constantly pushed to the general population, including impressionable children and teenagers. An astounding 28% of 16 to 17 year olds have been “unwillingly exposed” to online nudity and 70% of 15-17 year olds have reported accidently stumbling across pornography online (Covenant Eyes, 2014).

Instead of becoming aware of the dangers of its sexual obsession, many in America seem to revel in it and view pornography use as simply an expected event. The obvious trend towards increasing sexualization over recent decades that has taken place across the entertainment, advertising, and public media sectors of America are both reflections and catalysts of our desires. However, usage of pornography is not a harmless activity, no matter how normalized or widespread its usage may become.

The first line of decay caused by pornography starts with our brains. Exactly as with the effects of illegal drug use, individuals who view porn can swiftly begin to create new neural pathways in the areas of the brain comprising the pleasure and reward centers. Upon viewing pornography, the neurotransmitter dopamine (among others) is released in massive amounts into the brain (Hilton).

The brain adapts, however, and greater and greater amounts and variations of pornography are required to produce that same feeling. As the pornography user “chases the ghost” in an attempt to satisfy their desires, they must increase their consumption and/ or go deeper and deeper into increasingly graphic depictions of erotic material.

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In the Book of Matthew, Chapter 5, Jesus spoke of his followers as “salt” and “light.” Salt was used in ancient times to prevent the decay of food and light is obviously what enables us to see in darkness. Jesus then said we were to be a “city on a hill” – meaning a position that was highly visible. Jesus wanted to get the “salt out of the saltshaker,” with His followers preventing societal decay, being known for their good works, and shining light to the lost.

Jesus also talked about how the Holy Spirit would come and empower His disciples to be witnesses to their city, region, and even the whole earth. When the Holy Spirit was finally poured out in the Book of Acts, Chapter 2, we see that the Apostles devoted themselves to spiritual ministry, while the rest of the leaders and the broader Church body generously ministered to each other’s spiritual, physical, and relational needs. The early church began to meet frequently in the temple and house to house to fellowship, engage in spiritual devotions, share meals, and even donate their possessions! The Bible says this resulted in the “good favor of all the people” and that the Lord added daily to their numbers. The thriving life of the Church went beyond homes and the temple, however. The Book of Acts gives us many stories of worship and ministry taking place in the streets, city council meetings, and even in jail! Just like Jesus wanted, His Church was growing, highly visible, and becoming known for good works, all while still shining the light of spiritual redemption to the lost.

Unfortunately, the growth and impact of many Church organizations in our modern times has stagnated, with leaders often unsure of how to improve things further. Most of the formal and intentional activity of the Church takes place twice a week within a building at a centralized location. Worship and ministry activities are considerably less present in the home, and many of us actively feel uncomfortable with thoughts of bringing our “religion” out into the streets.

To be clear, the “temple” is wonderful and needed. Excellence at what happens inside the church building is important! A well-executed song service can facilitate a powerful connection between us and our Creator! A well-crafted sermon can challenge people to think and respond to the Word in ways that will forever change their life! Strong administration is vital when it comes to managing money and remaining accountable. Centralized systems are necessary for coordination and ensuring we remain effective, efficient, and intentional with our resources. Church services can provide a wonderful avenue for people to connect with God. In fact, I believe we need more excellence and innovation in our systems and service flows, not less.

However, if we are not careful, the church building can become a bottleneck to the growth of the body, a crutch that actually inhibits saints from thriving, and a black hole that misallocates our resources. Indeed, with so much of our attention on systems and service flows within “the temple,” we have basically become professionals at worshipping and ministering inside a building. The unintended cost of this, however, is that we have begun to lose our “saltiness” – our ability to engage outside the building. There are several reasons why an over-reliance on the building can actually hinder the growth of the body and stymie our mission.

First, ministering at “the temple” usually lends itself most easily only to certain types of spiritual gifts. For example, Gifts of Exhortation or Teaching find an easy avenue for their expression on the platform, aided by spotlights and microphones. Gifts of Leadership and Administration may also find themselves right at home amongst the centralized systems of the church offices. Those with the Gift of Mercy, on the other hand, may find straight rows of chairs in an auditorium to be a less than ideal location for their ministry to thrive. Similarly, those with the Gift of Evangelism may find few within the building that clearly need it. Someone with a Word of Wisdom may also find crowded lobbies to be an awkward environment for the sensitive and long conversation they need to dig into with another believer. As a result, certain gifts thrive with organizational support, while others wither within the confinement of the church walls.

Second, ministering at the temple only requires certain amounts of gifts. For example, there can only be so many musicians on stage at a time and so many speakers behind the pulpit. Some churches temporarily solve this by implementing a rotation, but this also means that each person is being used less frequently – potentially slowing their growth. Rotations may also only be a limited or short-term solution. For example, a rotation of three regular speakers may be doable, but what about twenty? Some churches will instead plant daughter-works, which is healthy, but does not totally solve for the limitations that will come if the new church also only focuses on activities inside the building. There are simply only so many types and amounts of “cogs in the machine” that are needed at a time. These factors can cause the building to unintentionally become a bottleneck, if it is the only obvious outlet for ministry.

Unfortunately, when only certain parts or functions of the Body are allowed to thrive, others will atrophy and lose their capacity. Much of the Church’s messaging has centered only around the importance of attending services and inviting people to the building. To be clear, this is not entirely wrong! Church attendance is certainly a vital part of a healthy spiritual life. Over time, however, an imbalance in focus may slowly cause the building to become the only environment where many people are accustomed to deeply engaging with their spirituality - causing the building to eventually become a crutch. If we are not careful, we can become better at “having church” than at being the Church. Unfortunately, this problem has progressed to the point where the term “church” itself is now something that is often primarily associated with the idea of a building or organization rather than with a personal, every-day identity.

However, when people subconsciously believe that the Church mainly just consists of “the temple,” the building will, in turn, become the main place where they seek to serve. This dynamic can cause the church building to become like a black hole, sucking in large amounts of time and energy from the most devoted saints, but returning diminishing marginal value. For example, if a church had ten volunteers ready to serve in any capacity, would more impact come by growing the choir from 60 to 70 people or from starting three new home bible studies? Similarly, if some musicians had 10 hours of time to invest, should they use it all at rehearsals learning to play a C#m9 versus “just” a C#m7, or might it be better to spend part of it ministering at a nursing home? If there was $10,000 extra in the budget, would someone’s life be more transformed by upgrading the lighting system, or by helping a family struggling with infertility to adopt a child? In each of these scenarios, the second option returns more marginal value, but the first is what we may default to, if we are too narrowly focused on the Kingdom at the temple.

Of course, these are just over-simplified, hypothetical scenarios. Many churches have the resources to focus in multiple places and “walk and chew gum at the same time.” There are also times where it is entirely appropriate to invest substantially within the church’s building and infrastructure. The point remains, however, that, if we are to reach the world, we must not allow our buildings to become black holes.

To understand more clearly, let’s use a Biblical analogy for the Church — a physical body. To keep our bodies strong, we know that exercise is essential. However, let’s imagine two people that each spend ten hours a week working out. Person 1 spends all ten hours using the bicep curl machine. Person 2, on the other hand, divides their time evenly amongst all the major muscle groups. Although Person 1 is likely to have bigger biceps, it is the second person who you would want to have on your side in a fight – especially if you knew you were going to war.

Investing in getting better at the bicep curl machine is not bad. In fact, it is good and should be continued, but it is not the only system our bodies need to exercise within. We must not get addicted to working on biceps so much that we don’t realize our other muscles are atrophying away. We should imagine a ridiculous image of a bodybuilder who has only worked on biceps every Sunday and Wednesday for decades…not realizing that they no longer have legs. Picture them walking around the gym on their arms, dragging limp legs behind them.

Indeed, as the Church advances the Kingdom of God, we must not be a community that is “all biceps” and only knows how to minister with excellence in the context of centralized church services or large, “stadium-style” events. We are engaged in spiritual warfare already, whether we like it or not, and the enemy isn’t going to just “arm wrestle” us. In order to reach the world, we must adapt our systems and structures to allow for all of the Body of Christ to flourish. Introducing a sustained focus on Church life in the home and out in the streets of our community brings balance to the picture. These both not only open up a far greater number of “slots” for people to fill, but also introduce entirely different sets of gifts they can more easily operate in.

Holding gatherings in our homes radically expands the “footprint” of the Church. Instead of people noticing only one building, the activity in dozens of homes can serve as “billboards” to the community. Many people would gladly accept an invitation to a small gathering, intimate meal, or Bible study before they would just walk into a big building where they don’t know anyone or understand what’s going on. Home gatherings encourage saints to bond and minister to each other in ways that are far more personalized than is possible in corporate meetings. It also offers a low-pressure environment for people to grow in their giftings. Similarly, serving and meeting people out in the community is also important, not just because of the tremendous impact we can have, but also because it keeps us oriented to our mission of reaching the lost instead of “riding the pew.” It also allows us to connect with people where they are instead of waiting for them to come to us. Engaging with people in “real life” settings can make God feel much more accessible than “practicing religion in a building somewhere.”

As an aside, even when we are focused on “biceps” (centralized church services), it is wise to not only use the same “bicep machine” every week (same types of programming and service flows). Exercise experts know that variety in how you train a muscle is important to avoid hitting a plateau – a stagnation in progress despite continued effort. The only thing worse than Page 12 us trading away our “leg muscles” for “strong biceps”, is to hit a plateau and not even get strong biceps either. Unfortunately, this is exactly the situation many modern churches find themselves in – repeating the same service flows every week for decades, yet seeing only modest returns. Implementing more innovation and variety in how we design our gatherings is important for continued growth, although we need to focus on other muscle groups as well.

When we don’t balance our centralized systems with decentralized discipleship, we may also find it difficult to garner genuine feedback about how the church could improve. The setting of an auditorium with rows of chairs simply isn’t designed to easily facilitate vulnerable conversation and feedback. Unfortunately, change can be neglected or even resisted by the Church, due to fear, unclarity, or desire to protect the status-quo. What is needed, however, is for Church leadership to intentionally spend more time building up the Church’s variety of giftings, even if that means making additions or changes to existing ways of doing things.

One important step in this journey is to publicly affirm those who pursue careers in “secular fields” and highlight how their “non-church” positions can be used to mightily advance the Kingdom. In a similar vein, publicly recognizing ministry efforts that are taking place outside the church walls is important. For better or worse, people are pulled towards areas where they feel likely to be seen and affirmed. Ministries that revolve around the church building have a natural “visibility” advantage, and so are more likely to pull people towards them. Intentional efforts by church leadership to counterbalance this can go a long way. Last, but not least, enabling the Church to thrive outside of a centralized building will require an empowerment of the Holy Spirit. This will be discussed more deeply in the next section, but in short, one of the main reasons why we receive the Holy Spirit is so that we can be empowered to be witnesses for Christ. Certainly this can and does happen within a building, but our witnessing sphere was never intended to be limited to an auditorium of other Christians. For leaders and saints that look inward and feel anxiety about shining their light outside the church walls, the Lord can help here too. Walking with Him and honestly bringing our failings into prayer will open a door for His love to cast out all fear. He will assure our timid hearts of His strength and lead us into the perfect positions for His strength to be made perfect in our weakness. It is not our job to save the world – that belongs to Him. Our job is to walk in the Spirit, obey His voice, and speak or act in Love to those He brings us into connection with. He will enable us to reach the world, but He will take care of saving the world.

In summary, to bring life to the world, it is worth reflecting on how we can build a thriving Church presence within the “temple”, our homes, and out in the community. If we are not careful, however, we will continue to rely upon a handful of ministers and religious activities at a building. These can become crutches, bottlenecks, or black holes that misallocate our collective potential for the Kingdom of God. If this happens, we should not be surprised when the growth of many of our communities continues to remain static or decline, with many congregations habitually repeating the same activities every week, using the same people, at the same location, simply because that is always what has been done. The reality, however, is that bringing the life of the Church to the temple, home, and street are all needed, with each offering us new ways to minister to others and strengthening different parts of the Body.

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This episode of the first of three conversations held between Rev. Desi Lugo and myself over the course of a week where his family stayed in my home during a stop through Dallas. As you will pick up from the conversations, Desi and his family have a long history with me and my family. I am blessed to call him an old friend.

He is more than that to me, however. When I was a young man, Desi was a sounding board and a safe space during a time when I really needed one. He was a brilliant mind, yes, but also a patient listener, and a man who was wise enough to know which one was needed each time.

I do not consider Desi to be just a friend, I consider him to be a mentor and, honestly, an example that I hope to emulate in many ways. No, he isn’t perfect (and when he reads this he will likely be moderately displeased at my description of him), but he is doing his best to trust God and obey His voice, and that has turned him into a man with much worth sharing and emulating.

In this particular conversation, you will hear Desi unpack the sides of being a missionary that those of us not on the mission’s field probably won’t realize. I hope this episode is deeply informative for any who may be considering a call to missions themselves, but also inspiring to the rest of us who need to know where to send our prayers and mission’s giving.

Speaking of which, if this conversation sparks a desire in you to donate to the new journey in New Zealand the Lugos are about to embark on, please consider financially blessing them by using this link.

https://give.upci.org/category/upci/gm/gm-lugo-desi

And, no, the Lugo’s did not ask me to post this. But I hope they receive blessing nonetheless.

Best regards,

Nathan Marlette

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The story behind how this interview came to be is a somewhat odd and serendipitous one, but the best things in life often are. In short, I had been in the middle of writing a book (coming out soon hopefully!) about various issues I believe the modern day Church needs to do some serious reflecting on — one among them being our unhealthy relationship with technology.

I was pondering these thoughts as my family walked into a store located within Homestead Heritage, a Christian, agrarian-based, intentional community located outside of Waco, Texas, not far from my home base in Dallas.

As I walked into the store, my eye caught a book displayed prominently on one of the shelves, Changing Our Minds, by S. Kay Toombs. (Amazon Link)

This looked like exactly the book for me and, as I quickly thumbed through it, I realized I had hit upon a gold mine of studies and research that confirmed my fears. I realized that the author of this book had a high likelihood of living within this community, and so also had a decent likelihood of being close by. If I wanted to ask questions or probe further, now was my chance. I approached the counter and rather boldly asked the lady at the register (who was incredibly kind) if she could connect me to the author of the book I was holding.

While I waited, I looked into Dr. Toombs a bit further online and found that, far from being an unknown voice from a remote community, Dr. Toombs was a highly esteemed scholar in her field of study, having taught and lead at Baylor University for several years. This was a woman I just had to meet!

A few moments later I had received a phone number and was dialing the esteemed Dr. S. Kay Toombs. A kind voice with an English accent greeted me on the other end and I quickly explained who I was and why I was interested in her book. Despite the obvious generational difference between the two of us, I was immediately struck with that wonderful feeling you get when you encounter a “kindred spirit” — a mind that you immediately respect and feel like you easily connect with.

As we ended our brief conversation I asked her if I could follow up with an in-person interview in the upcoming months and she graciously agreed. In the weeks that followed, Dr. Toombs continued to impress me with her intentionality and sharp mind. I sent her drafts of interview questions and she sent back detailed notes and suggestions for revisions. It was wonderful to encounter such a brilliant and thoughtful mind, albeit virtually.

When the day for the interview finally arrived I showed up to her house with my recording equipment and the two of us chatted amicably as I set up. Once the recorded started, I was pleasantly surprised once again by how much chemistry the two of us seemed to have and found her insights deeply convicting. What I am doing to apply what she talked about in my personal life will likely be the subject of a future post, however.

After the interview, I asked to use her restroom and, on my way back to the living room, noticed that the door to her office study was open. Nosily, I glanced inside and saw stacks of papers with notes and highlighting, all specifically regarding the subjects she had just talked to me about.

I was already impressed with her, but seeing the level of time, effort, and intentionality that she had obviously put into preparing for our interview made me feel all the more grateful that I had received the chance to meet and listen to her.

I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed recording it. If you have any follow up questions you’d like me to ask Dr. Toombs, please put them in the comment section of this post! Who knows, it may just lead to another interview. :)

Best regards,

Nathan Marlette

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For me, communion has always felt like a very solemn thing. I knew there was power in those moments and I intuitively felt like deep reflection was the right posture to take when partaking in the elements. Others around me have all seemed to feel similarly too.

I thought these verses from 1 Corinthians indicated that examination and self-reflection needed to be directed towards the sin in my life — things that were keeping me from communing fully with God. If I wasn’t repentant, then it would actually be a bad idea for me to participate in communion, since I would be eating and drinking damnation on myself.

So, before I would partake, I would usually take a moment to quietly tell God I was sorry for my sin, ask for forgiveness, and then solemly consume the communion wafer and juice (we didn’t use wine) that symbolized the body and blood of Christ. Usually this would be done with the rest of the Church Body, all of us standing close to the front in the altar area. We would usually take a moment of silence and then all partake together.

There is no doubt that solemnity and repentance are good and Biblical things, yet it wasn’t until recently that I began to really read this passage of Scripture in its fuller context. When I did, I began to realize how much more the practice of communion was supposed to mean for my life.

Allow me to take just a moment to provide a little context. In the chapters leading right up until the passage we just read, the Apostle Paul is addressing various barriers to church unity. He then specifically writes about how we shouldn’t maximize our own freedom and pleasure, if it is going to come at someone else’s expense or make their spiritual walk more difficult. In short, considering what is best for the whole Body instead of just ourselves is what God wants his people to strive for.

With this perspective in mind, let us turn to 1 Corinthians 11:20, just a few verses before the spot we looked at, where Paul begins talking about how the Corinthian church is messing up when parting of the “Lord’s supper” together. This term refers to an early church custom from which we have adapted our modern practice of “communion.”

Speaking of “adapt”, and before we go further, however, let me state that we’re going to notice that what Paul is addressing doesn’t sound like the same scene as the solemn modern-day communion practice I’ve described. I’ll explain more in a second, but for now, just know that the “Lord’s supper” for the Corinthian church consisted of a full meal that everyone brought from their own home — not a small packet with a wafer and juice that an usher handed them when they went to the front of an auditorium. Think of it more like a giant potluck.

Alright, let’s jump in and see why the Apostle Paul was disappointed in what they were doing.

Have you ever heard of the term “Love fest”? It comes partly from an earlier term, “love feast.” This term, in turn, has its roots in a very early practice that historians record about the early Christian, who were known for their “agape feasts.” The term “Agape” as many of you may know, means a generous, giving, or self-sacrificial love. The early Christians were accustomed to celebrating with each other and throwing large feasts where everyone in the church could partake of food and drink to satisfy their hunger and celebrate together. At the end of the feast they would formally celebrate the Eucharist with a ritual partaking of bread and wine to commemorate what Jesus did with His disciples at the Last Supper. This last part is closest to what we would recognize today.

However, over time a pattern in the Corinthian church (and others) emerged — certain people were getting left out of the love. Perhaps they wanted to show up to church, but couldn’t contribute much food to the feast, due to their lack of monetary resources. Perhaps they weren’t comfortable walking up to another table and asking for a bite of food off someone’s plate (I wouldn’t be comfortable doing that either), so they had to push down the feeling of shame and hope that one of their brothers and sisters in Christ would be willing to share with them.

Unfortunately, instead of sharing, those among the community who did have resources began to really lean into the fun that comes from consuming. They began to bring opulent spreads and openly enjoyed the pleasure of deeply indulging — all the while overlooking and ignoring the needs of others at the gathering who had nothing.

Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of a financially poor member of the church during one of these scenes. Just pretend with me for a moment.

The situation isn’t good. You are hungry and your kids are starving too. Yes, you’ve made some poor choices in your life that contributed to you being here. But that was before Christ. When you encountered Jesus, well, the Spirit changed absolutely everything. Jesus has been the best thing that has ever happened to you.

Times are still hard though. The economy isn’t great and the job you do have pays far less than it takes to adequately provide for a family. This weighs on you constantly, but finding a better job just doesn’t seem to be possible at the moment. There a lot of people in a similar boat and everyone is applying to the same positions it seems.

It’s Sunday, the bills are due, and the cupboards are almost bare, but rather than picking up an extra shift at work, you know in your heart that going to church to worship the Lord with fellow believers is the right thing for you and your family to do instead. You’ve heard that the church likes to eat together, but all you can afford to bring right now is a sleeve of peanut butter crackers. Hopefully that is enough to tide the kids over for a few hours. Hopefully you won’t stick out…

Either way, you pack everyone up and head to the gathering, only to be greeted once you arrive with the smells of sizzling steak, warm bread, and the sounds of uproarious laughter from well-dressed people at tables all around. The gathering appears to already be well under way. You glance away awkwardly as you know that bringing your own spread simply isn’t possible right now. Silently, you and your family pick an empty table as far away from the smells as you can manage, but that sirloin is in your brain now.

“I’m hungry,” your youngest says as she pulls at your sleeve and looks at you expectantly. “Can we eat something, please?”

You look around awkwardly again, but no one else at any of the other tables is even willing to meet your eyes. You and your family feel almost… invisible. Instead, all eyes turn to a man who is just arriving with a giant pot of steaming gumbo. He is greeted with a chorus of salutations and slapped on the back merrily. Your heart lifts, thankful for the prospect of a warm bowl of food for you and the kids.

To your shock, however, instead of bringing the pot to some central table for distribution to others who may want a bowl, the man instead plops down on a couch and begins to lavishly shovel steaming broth into his mouth with a ladle — never so much as even glancing your direction.

You glance around, but everyone else seems intent to do similarly, tearing into their steaks, drumsticks, lobsters, and buttery dinner rolls. You look to your left and see a man remove his Rolex and carefully set the watch to the side before diving headfirst into his crockpot full of savory-smelling meat. You look to your right and are astonished to see that someone at the table next to you has drank almost an entire bottle wine all by themselves. Slurring his words, the man glances over, smiles at you, and says, “Welcome to church, brother!” before slumping over, completely intoxicated. Others laugh and carry on, oblivious to your empty table and seemingly engrossed in their own worlds.

You look a little closer at one of the tables and are surprised to see your neighbors. Like, your literal neighbors, Bob and Anne, who live two houses over from you. Sitting next to them is another couple that often are customers at the business that employs you. Hope rises within you. If anyone knows of your situation and might be willing to help, it would be them. However, your hopes are quickly dashed as you realize the empty plates scattered about their table. You’ve apparently arrived too late. You make eye contact with Bob and Anne and they give a very friendly wave and smile and before returning to their conversation.

You are stunned, ashamed, confused, and entirely unsure what to do or say next. Do you just stand up and announce your poverty to the room? Do you directly approach another table and break up a conversation to ask if you can take some of their food? Maybe it’s good that you were a little late. Maybe its a good idea to leave a little early.

You stand to gather your things and family, but, just as you prepare to make a hasty retreat, a voice from the front of the room calls out, “Greetings dear brothers and sisters! It’s time for us to take a moment to remember our Lord!”

An usher of some kind quickly passes out small crackers, dropping a few at your table. You look at them, unsure of whether to be grateful, disappointed, or beat yourself up for making church about material things at all. You feel guilty, knowing that a sense of entitlement isn’t warranted — after all, no one here owes you anything. No law says that anyone here should be obligated to share. You should probably learn to be content with your peanut butter crackers. Either way, you know you should be focused on Jesus right now, not about fleshly satisfaction…

…but your stomach is rumbling nonetheless, and the sight of the food and riches around you is making it hard to concentrate on God.

“Let all of us take a solemn moment to examine ourselves before we partake of the Body and Blood of Christ.” the man at the front says.

In the long moment that follows you think of your own sin and how grateful you are that Jesus chose to die for you. Surprisingly, the rest of the room seems to really be focused on this moment too. The raucous sounds of joyous feasting have given way to solemnity. You hear several couples at nearby tables whispering prayers of thankfulness to God for all the blessings He’s poured out on their life.

As everyone lifts their communion crackers together in unity, you catch a gleam of light in the corner of your eye as the man with the Rolex raises the cracker to his mouth. You can’t help but think about the stack of bills on the kitchen table waiting for you at home and almost miss the next moments of the service entirely as you are lost in thought.

As the service concludes, you stuff some peanut butter crackers in your kids’ mouths and take a few nibbles yourself. This has been a hard morning, but maybe this a good lesson that God wants to teach you or something. Maybe its also a lesson you don’t want to learn again.

“Hey there!” interjects a voice, cutting through your darkening thoughts. “Its good to see you guys — we’ve been praying for you! How are things going?” You look up to see Bob and Anne standing there, looking at you with what appears to be a caring expression on their faces.

"Um… good. Things are good.” You mumble, trying to be polite, but inwardly kicking yourself for lying. Bob’s suit and nice shoes glisten in the light as he leans forward and says, “Don’t worry, we’ll be continuing to pray for God’s provision in your situation.”

“Thanks” you say, and do your best to wrap up the conversation. I mean, what else are you supposed to say to something like that? You look at your own plain clothes compared to Bob’s and honestly just want to hide.

As if things couldn’t get worse, the man at the front of the room calls out, “Oh, I almost forgot to give the announcements. Everyone please be sure to give your tithes and offerings — today is missions Sunday!”

You almost cry as you see the people in the room begin to pass around a collection plate. By the time it passes by you, it has several hundred dollars in it at least. You look away. This is too much. You don’t like how this is making you look at your new brothers and sisters. You don’t like the entitled feelings this is bringing up within yourself. Is this what a walk with Christ is supposed to feel like?

Mumbling something unintelligible to Bob and Anne, you grab your family and go. Maybe your relationship with God would be better served by staying away from church for a little bit until you have more money…

Now, obviously this was all just a made up story, but this image certainly seems to fit better with the scenario that the Apostle Paul appears to be addressing, especially considering the historical context we’ve learned about.

What does all of this have to do with us though? Most of us don’t have feasts in our church buildings that often and, obviously, I’m not expecting everyone to share the little bits of wafer and juice from whenever we take our modern version of communion. But what I am asking us to do is take a second, when we come to communion, to ask ourselves “who, exactly, am I supposed to be communing with right now?”

Yes, God wants us to think about Him and examine ourselves, but the context of the scriptures we’ve read shows us that one of the main things God wants us to be thinking about not just our relationship to Him, but our relationship to each other. Even if no one is specifically getting drunk at church anymore, there are likely parallel stories similar to the one we explored happening all across America every Sunday. People around us who are struggling to pay the bills and provide for their families. Even worse, what if there aren’t any in need at our church. What would that indicate about us?

Let’s take a look at what other passages of scripture have to say about this though.

Scripture is clear that we need to be looking out not just for our own needs, but for the needs of others too. Now, in our modern context, you may or may not have extra food to share, and your neighbor next to you may or may not need an extra meal, specifically. The point of communion is about more than sharing food, however, (although it certainly includes that). Jesus broke the bread and gave the wine as an analogy of how he was going to give everything for those He loved, even if that meant going through suffering. And when Jesus said “Do this in remembrance, of me,” to what action do the words, “do this,” refer? Well the consuming of the food and drink He was distributing is certainly part of it, but the very preceding words were, “This is my body, which is given for you.” I believe Jesus was telling his disciples not just to be consumers, but to mirror Him and become givers. It echoes His words from a different context in Matthew 10:8 "Freely you have received; freely give.”

In the same way, when we eat the bread and drink from the cup, we need examine ourselves and, instead of only thinking about what we need to repent for, we should also ask ourselves, “What can I give and who might need what I have?”

Maybe what you have is land and money. Maybe you have food. Maybe you have time. Maybe all you can give someone is your full attention — someone next to you who might need a friend more than anyone would ever know. Maybe you can give your time in prayer for people. Maybe you can just give your presence.

Either way, before we break the bread and drink the cup next time, let us all take a second to thank the Lord for all He has given us and then ask Him to show us what we can give and who might need it. If we want to commune with Him, it cannot be separated from how we commune with each other.

May the Sprit empower us to give as freely as we have received.

With love,

-Nathan Marlette

What Reflective Ecclesia is and what it’s about.

Reflective Ecclesia is setting out to be a network hub of content that can provide both thought leadership and practical resources to the Church. The tagline for the Reflective Ecclesia network is “Deep Thought — Christ Centered Action.” If that resonates with you, please come along for the ride and join the conversation.

1. Why this, why now

The word “reflective” has a double meaning; it can mean “to think deeply upon something” or “to shine with the light from another source.” The word “ecclesia” is often translated as “church”, but the full meaning is closer to “gathering” or “assembly” — implying a focus on faith communities more so than church buildings.

We believe the Church is desperately in need of reflection — in both senses of the word. Our society needs the Church to shine the light of the Gospel and become more effective in how we minister to our communities. Unfortunately, our organizations, congregations, families, and individuals are often beset with their own problems, hindering us from becoming the best versions of what Christ intends. This has been demonstrated, in part, by the massive decline of church affiliation in the U.S. over the last 50 years.

Yet there is hope. The tide is beginning to turn. Increasingly, due to the decaying state of our society, people are now finding themselves returning to faith and have become open to hearing answers to their questions. People are looking for examples of a better way.

There is a window of opportunity here, if the Church can ready itself. If not, other movements will seize upon this opportunity and capture the hearts and minds of the seeking instead. To reflect brightly, however, we will need to reflect deeply.

We will also need to reflect together. We will need like-minded community — real community.

2. What kind of community we are looking to build here

No, we know that online content and comment sections can’t substitute for authentic depth (the kind that we all can feel has been hollowed out from our communities), but for any who resonate with what we’ve been expressing, this is the place for you. What we’re building here can do is give you some of the ideas, resources, and connections you’ll need as a the right foundation to make things better.

More specifics about that in moment during the next section.

But in short, whether you view yourself as a leader, thinker, or more practically-oriented “do-er”, there is something here for you. We will certainly engage with big ideas and explore dense topics (our society needs more depth, not less!), but we’ll also be pushing hard to provide resources and clear pathways to practical application.

3. More Specifics

There are a lot of issues we in the Church need to be talking about. There is a lot we need to learn. There’s a lot our society needs us to share.

To make room in our network for multiple spaces without things getting super jumbled, we intend to try to stand up four lanes, although at the beginning everything will placed into lane one (Reflective Ecclesia) for the sake of simplicity in the launch messaging.

Reflective Ecclesia: Sharing the same name, this space will be the flagship channel of the Reflective Ecclesia network, focusing on edifying the Church to become more effective, connected, and intellectually grounded. We will also take a lot of time here to explore more about the role of the Church in Society.

As mentioned above, all content will fall under this brand for a time. As more momentum and content builds, we will consider splitting some of it out into the following lanes.

Foundations & Formation (Coming Later): This lane is about promoting practical, healthy foundations and formation for individuals across the major domains of life, including spirituality, finances, physical wellness, career, education, family, relationships, mental health, and more.

Logos Pathways: (Coming Later) This will be a space for deepening our understanding of Scripture and Theology, as well as providing resources for teaching, discipleship, and practical application.

Park New York Productions: (Coming Later) You might be thinking, “this all sounds great, but it’s all kinda… dense.” We hear you. We think the Church needs brains and hands, to be sure, but we also need the heart. We need to engage our souls not just our minds. The best way we know how to do that is by telling stories. This will be the place where rich stories and other creative works are produced and distributed, including written, audio, film content, games, and more!

Hopefully these spaces all make sense. I’m sure things will evolve as the needs and our community itself does, but for now this is what we’re aiming at. We intend to publish videos, audio content, and blogs pretty frequently. On a more measured pace we will be releasing larger articles, ebooks, tools, and other resources. We’ve already got a bunch in the queue we’ve been working on though and are looking forward to launching more!

4. What now?

If you’ve read this far, thank you! It means a lot to know that you would engage with our ideas. There are a few easy next steps we’d like you to consider.

One, could you take a moment to hit the “Share” button below? We really want to get the word out and build this network and community.

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Thank you for engaging with Reflective Ecclesia — your support and attention allows us to keep doing this work.

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