Joining a small group for the first time can feel intimidating, but it’s one of the best ways to grow in your faith. Here’s what to expect, how to prepare, and why it’s worth showing up.
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Christian life
There’s a scene from the old movie, Superman, where Clark Kent’s father says to him: “Son, you’re here for a special reason. I don’t know what that reason is, but I know one thing – it’s not to score touchdowns.” His father’s intent isn’t to knock football, but to challenge his son to live in light of what he’s been created to do. I think Christians can often lose sight of that focus. Somewhere along the line, we get the impression that God’s goal is to just keep us from sinning. As long as we don’t do anything terrible, He’s not too concerned about what we do. But that’s not the Christian message at all.
Last time, we looked at an amazing promise of Scripture from Romans 10:9, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Having understood that verse, however, it may be a little confusing to read Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” He pictures people pleading to get into heaven but being denied entrance. They call Jesus “Lord” and can even point to some good works that they have done in Jesus’ name (v. 22), but Jesus casts them out saying that He never knew them (v. 23). It seems that they came close to salvation, but not close enough. What were they missing? They lacked what so many ‘almost Christians’ lack today: repentance and relationship. Let me explain.
Most Christians leave the gospel at the door of the Christian life. They see the good news about Jesus as the key to getting into the Christian life, but then struggle to see how the gospel is also the engine that drives the Christian life. As a result, they end up running on fumes and living the Christian life like a non-Christian.
With the stakes so high, we need to remember what we’re aiming for in the influence of our teen’s faith. Just making them go to church and be good is not the goal.
We have amazing volunteers at Grace. I’m always encouraged by the different ways that I see people using their gifts to demonstrate their faith and love. Yet there are some people who don’t volunteer. They hear about the needs and the opportunities, but don’t respond. One good reason can be because they’re just settling in. We encourage people to attend for several months before they start getting involved in ministry because it takes time to get to know people and get a feel for the church. But there are other reasons. Recently, I read an excellent article by Carey Nieuwhof on the “7 Questions Every Volunteer Asks But Never Says Out Loud.” It looks at some of the reasons that a disconnect can develop between ministry leaders and potential volunteers. Let me share Nieuwhof’s questions along with some comments in response to them.
Do you ever struggle to make sense of your circumstances? Many times, I’ve looked at what’s happening in my life and asked, “What on earth are you doing God?” Some things begin to make sense in retrospect as I look back on what’s happened. Other circumstances still have question marks next to them. There are many things that I’m looking forward to God explaining in heaven, one day. In the meantime, others can help us navigate the murkier days. Last month, I listened to a preacher named Sandy Wilson at a conference in Huntsville. He shared the story of Elisabeth’s Elliott’s first year of missionary service.
On Sunday, Lawson Murray cited research from a study of over 7,000 churches that compared the impact of fifty different spiritual disciplines and activities. The assumption was that lots of church programs and activities were what was most needed to help people grow. But what the survey showed was that Bible reading and reflection is hands down the single greatest determining factor in spiritual growth. If you read the Bible and reflect on it, you will grow in your Christian life. If you don’t, you can do all kinds of other good Christian things, but your faith will languish. And yet a majority of Canadian Christians seldom read the Bible. This week I read about some of the findings of The Canadian Bible Engagement Study. It was interesting to see what factors determine whether people will read the Bible or not.
I love to listen to the stories that capture people’s imagination, because they often give insights into how people think and what they believe. Popular stories command an audience because they express things that resonate with how people see the world. So when the latest Star Wars installment came out, I was interested to see what its message might be. If you can handle a minor spoiler, I’d like to share what I learned from Yoda about the Bible.
In 2006, for the first time since national census records were first reported in 1871, unmarried adults in Canada outnumbered the number of married adults. Ironically, this was just one year after Canada passed the law, legalizing same-sex marriage. More people than ever could legally marry, but fewer people than ever did. Obviously, it was a sign of a cultural shift. And over the last decade, the trend has only continued. More people delay marriage for education and careers. Increasing work demands make it more difficult to find time to meet people. The rise in divorce means that more people who were married now no longer are. And more and more people who have been hurt by divorce have a cynicism about the value or relevance of marriage. Given these new dynamics, I’m grateful that thoughtful Christians are doing research and addressing these trends with biblical solutions. This spring, Crossway Publishing released the results of a 7000-person survey on singleness and dating as part of a book release for Marshall Segal’s, “Not Yet Married: The Pursuit of Joy in Singleness & Dating,” and the results are worth considering.