Our Strategy: Grow
John 13:34-35
In this series, we’ve been looking at our strategy to accomplish our mission of “Connecting diverse communities to a lifestyle devoted to Jesus.” The first step in our strategy is “Celebrate.” We celebrate because worshiping God is the purpose of our life. People need to be refocused on God, to grow in their understanding of and confidence in God and to experience God. But most of all, they need to respond to God not just with their confession of God but with committing and living their whole lives to God. Second is Discover. We must be willing to discover and learn to be the church and followers of Jesus. And for those of us who have been Christians all our lives, we must discover how God wants us to live, worship and serve him in new ways. Spiritual training is vital to a healthy and successful Christian life. Discover classes are not just about learning but about feeding the soul and equipping the follower of Jesus with the knowledge, understanding, skills and practices to live a life devoted to Jesus.
Today, we’re looking at the third part of our strategy, “Grow”. Every Christ follower must be intentional in growing in relationship to others and God. And Gretna UMC must be intentional about helping you to grow in your faith. That happens primarily through small group Bible Study and Sunday School. The essence of this strategy is to provide an environment where each individual has the opportunity to develop and grow in healthy, meaningful relationships in the family of God, while growing in their faith and understanding of God and His purposes for our lives. So there are two parts to growth: our relationship with God and others. That’s why we as Methodists believe the two primary things for spiritual growth, the Bible and relationships, should be done together.
The first occurs through Bible study. We need to know God’s word. It’s His guide for our life. We will never know God or God’s will unless we know His Word for our lives. And yet too many of us don’t know enough. The new minister was asked to teach a 6th grade boys’ class in the absence of the regular teacher. He decided to play Bible trivia with them, so he asked who knocked down the walls of Jericho. All the boys denied having done it, and the preacher was appalled by their ignorance. At the next deacons’ meeting he told about the experience. "Not one of them knows who knocked down the walls of Jericho," he lamented. The group was silent until finally one seasoned veteran of disputes spoke up. "Preacher, this appears to be bothering you a lot. But I’ve known all those boys since they were born and they’re good boys. If they said they didn’t know, I believe them. Let’s just take some money out of the repair and maintenance fund, fix the walls, and let it go at that." We all need to know God’s Word for our lives. Why? 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
First, it teaches me about God and his plan for my life. The Bible is God’s written revelation of his will to all people. Second, it provides spiritual strength for the challenges and problems of life. Third, it provides guidance in life. The Bible teaches me right from wrong. It gives me a moral compass to direct my steps and truth when the world around me says something differennt. Fourth, it provides wisdom in decision making. People read books, consult experts and even go to counseling to help them make the right decisions in life but only one knows all truth and only one has the wisdom which has withstood the challenges of time.
Bible study is essential for spiritual growth.1 Peter 2:2, for spiritual maturity. Hebrews 5:11-14 and for spiritual effectiveness 2 Timothy 3:16-17 but it must be done in community with others.
The second aspect of spiritual growth is relationships. Play the song, “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” You remember this song, don’t you? It was of course, the theme show for “Cheers” – a fictional bar in Boston where the regulars developed relationships with each other that gave them strength in the hard times of their lives. “Sometimes you just wanna go where everybody knows your name and everybody is glad you came.” This need that people have to know and be known, loved and accepted for who they are is one of our basic needs as a human being. It’s how God wired us when he created us. All of us have a need for community with others – and that need for community has been created by God in each of us.
Bill Gallaher was a member of my last church and a retired professor at LSU Med School who researched cures for the AIDS virus. One day he sat me down in my office and shared that before he renewed his commitment to Christ, he used to go to a bar several times of week with the same group of colleagues. That formed a bond and relationship where they became able to share just about anything with one another. They provided counsel and strength for one another during tough times and celebrated during the successes of life and career. But they also had the trust and love for one another to get in each other’s face and challenge one another when they had failed morally. And then he said, “I miss that comradery in my life. I want that again. Why is it that you can have that in a bar but it’s so hard to get in a church?” The fact is Bill’s experience helped to meet a need for relationship in his life but it was empty of the spiritual.
God wants us to live in community with other people – but he especially wants us to live in community with other believers. God knows that when we live just on our own, without interaction with others on a meaningful level, that something in us just slowly shrivels up. And he has given us a blueprint to discover the type of community that each of us longs for: Jesus and the disciples. He has also given us direction. If you search through the New Testament to find exactly what it says about what God’s church (his people) are supposed to be doing, you will find more than 50 important passages which fall into 5 broad categories: EVANGELISM, DISCIPLESHIP, SERVICE, WORSHIP, and FELLOWSHIP. The most common one? FELLOWSHIP – which comes from the Greek word “koinonia” meaning “sharing in common”. In other words, fellowship is the building of relationships with other Christians.
In those, you find 21 “one another commands” in the NT which instruct disciples of Jesus how they are to relate with other disciples. The overarching command is to LOVE one another. John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” But that LOVE is shown through the other 20, which include… Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Colossians 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Romans 15:7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. In today’s busy culture – how can we possibly live out these commands? By investing time in relationships with a small group of people who are dedicated to living out these commands!
The primary currency of the last century was money. The primary currency and commodity of the 21st century is time. Where you spend your time is what you value. So today, love is spelled TIME. We will never grow to love people that we don’t know. Most of us will never be motivated to serve another person, or forgive them, or submit to them or encourage them if we don’t know them! This is not that forum. The large group setting of a worship service is great for experiencing God’s presence and hearing the word of God taught – but it is very difficult to really get to know other people. And there is ZERO ACCOUNTABILITY for putting into action the things you hear being taught.
That’s why we are challenging every person who attends here to “think small”, that is – to make small group Bible study a priority in their lives. This is not just because “the Bible says so”, but because when we “think small”, it will produce BIG results in our lives and for the Kingdom of God. Small Groups provide a place to develop new friendships with other disciples. Small Groups provide a safe place to find answers to your spiritual questions. Small Groups provide a place for you to be used by God to help meet others’ needs. Small Groups provide a place for you to have your needs met by people who care. Small Groups provide a place for you to be involved in the great commission through group multiplication.
WHAT HAPPENS AT A SMALL GROUP? Fellowship time. Bible discussion 30-45 minutes. Prayer and sharing of needs 15-30 minutes There are all types of groups for all kinds of people, too. We’ve got groups for men, groups for women, groups for people working on recovery, groups for people who are dealing with the pain of divorce, groups for high schoolers and middle schoolers, and groups that are open to all different types of people. Don’t have a group that meets your needs? Start one. We’ll help you. That’s what I did.
Our mission is “connecting diverse communities to a lifestyle devoted to Jesus” and the best way to so that it by loving each other. For when we get involved in the lives of others– and really begin to love each other– the natural result is growth. Acts 2:42-47 describes what this life is about and what can happen in it. ”They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
When the world sees Christians demonstrating the type of love that Jesus demonstrated to the first disciples – the result is always the same – people want to be a part of that! The Lord will add to our number daily those who will be saved. The only question is – will you invest the time necessary to develop these types of relationships.
Russ Robinson tells the story of attending Christmas Eve worship services, sharing dinner with the family and opening gifts. The next morning on Christmas day, they climbed into their 10 year old motor home and began the long journey from Chicago to Pheonix to see his parents. Russ and his wife took turns driving until nightfall. They stopped in Texas to refuel and then Russ kept driving while the family slept. He turned on a rural highway and had just reached the speed limit when a drunken woman, dressed in black appeared in the middle of the roadway. Russ tried swerving to miss her but it was impossible. As he collided with her, her skull cracked the windshield, her body tore at the right side of the vehicle and she was tossed into the ditch. The police later told him that she had positioned herself on the road hoping to commit suicide by being run over. After the collision, Russ pulled over to the side of the road, called 911 and then almost went into shock. Seconds later, he called a man in his small group and his wife phoned a woman in hers. Within moments, two groups began praying for them.
She survived but Russ said he barely did emotionally. It left him emotionally fragile. Recovery was long and difficult and even driving felt dangerous. But his small group’s prayer support helped him on the road to recovery. They listened during long conversations while he tried to process confusing emotions. When he wrestled with God, seeking to make sense of the experience, they offered reassurance and other help. “I needed people to pray with me and for me, and I came to know what Paul spoke of in Romans 12:15, to have someone weep with those who weep.” That trauma gave me firsthand experience of God’s promise that true community offers strength for life’s storms. I experience how the body of Christ can extend real, personal hands to someone in pain. And then he writes, “There will come a time when life turns against you and you need help. (And you can survive) adversity through faith and community. But you need to invest in community today, so yo can reap the benefits during tomorrow’s season of deprivation and loss.
