To Know and To Be Known

One of the strongest of human needs is the need for community.  We want to know others and we want to be known.  Patrick Lafferty in his blog post from Park Cities Presbyterian Church says it this way, "There's a song by Don Shaffer about two lovers staring contemplatively at the sunset on a warm afternoon at the beach.  Breaking the silence, the girl asks her boyfriend if he ever has a deep desire to be free of all that constrains, to escape the mundane and the trivial.  He pauses and replies,

Kelly, I don’t think
I’ve ever wanted as much
To be free as I’ve longed to be known
And of the things that I hate
When I look at my life
The worst is my being alone

Lafferty observes, "The boyfriend's unpremeditated comment has the unintended consequence of awakening her to the same conclusion. She, too—despite all her desires to be unencumbered by the tedium and travail of this life—longs to be known."

Think about it.  We join the Scouts, pledge to sororities, play on teams, form clubs, all for a variety of reasons, but one of the most compelling is the need to know and to be known.  We don't want to be alone.  It is not healthy to be alone.  In the early hours of the sixth day of creation God looked and saw what he had made and said, "It is not good for man to be alone."  Some times we don't want to take the time to build community.  Some times we live in denial of the need, but we are never better for it.

Everyone knows relationships are not easy.  But anyone who has invested deeply in community has learned it is worth the effort.  Of all the groups you could join to fix your aloneness none have more potential than a LifeGroup.  In LifeGroups you have the opportunity to fix your aloneness while growing in your relationship with God and others.  In a healthy community we are encouraged, shaped, and sharpened by one another to live life as God intended it. I'm convinced we will never experience life as God intended us to know it apart from living it in community with other believers.  

It is worth your effort to find a LifeGroup and develop your community.  Right now before you log off the internet click on the link at the right and join a LifeGroup.  Find a LifeGroup

Craig

Is Celebrate Recovery Right for Me?

Who is CR for anyway? The common perception is that CR is for those who have addictions to things like, pornography, drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling, etc. However, while that is true, it is only partly true. CR is for anyone with a hurt, habit, or hang up. That my friends is just about all of us.

I've never met a person yet that made it into adulthood without suffering significant wounds to their soul - and I'm certainly not the exception. Debbie and I have both benefited from counseling tremendously.

How can you know if you need the help of CR? I would say if you have an area in your life where you consistently do what you know is not right and do not do what is right you would benefit from the help of CR. I'm talking about things as seemingly as insignificant as: controlling your spending (living on and within your budget), getting out of debt, overcoming a critical spirit, exercising self-control over your words, time usage, and diet. All of these and more are indications Celebrate Recovery may be right for you.

If you would like additional information on Lifeway's CR program click this link: Lifeway's Celebrate Recovery

Which Is Most Important, Evangelism or Discipleship?

A deceptive title, I know. But it probably caught your attention and you probably have an opinion. But before you express it think about this. Where should the church put the lion's share of it's resources - in reaching the lost or in teaching? To gain a definitive answer we not look any further than what is called "The Great Commission".

"Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” Matthew 28:18-20.

Jesus had completed his work of redemption. The cross and the tomb are now behind him. He is no longer the "suffering servant", he is the reigning King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and his mandate to the church is to make disciples. What is important to understand in this passage is there is only one main verb, "make disciples", and three participles, which define what it means to make disciples. The first participle is "go", the second is "baptize", the third is "teach". The command to make disciples involves going (evangelism - telling the good news), baptizing (fellowship - identifying with Christ and his church), and instruction (teaching all God's word and helping the believer grow in obedience to Christ).

There was serious confusion in the church I grew up in over the definition of discipleship, which was only been thought of in terms of teaching. The consequence has been a degeneration of what I call real evangelism. The preaching of the gospel was thought of only as proclaiming a message, Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-3). The belief was if you get a person saved (evangelism) then you follow up with teaching (discipleship).

I've always found it interesting that Jesus himself didn't separate evangelism from discipleship. In practice Jesus called the twelve who were unbelievers whom he taught about the kingdom of God (that God wants to rule in your life), convinced them that he is who he says he is and he can do everything he says he can do, and then he gave them the ministry to go and make disciples.

The better question is not which is more important, but does our practice of evangelism produce a convert (evangelism) that connects with Christ and his Church (baptism), and grows in obedience to all of Christ's commands (teaching). That is real evangelism! That is discipleship! The church that remains true to this mission cannot fail. Jesus said, "I will build my church", and "I will be with you to the end of the age."

Church Growth

When we talk about church growth at Lifeway what are we saying? To us church growth is why we exist. We boldly proclaim that our mission is to give our lives away to help others find and follow Christ. We believe a person really hasn't experienced life until he or she has given up his life for the sake of Jesus and his mission. In Mark 8:35 Jesus said, "He that holds on to his life will lose it, but the one who gives up his life for my sake and the gospel's will find it."

For us church growth is not a numbers game, but an intentional process of bringing people to Christ, assimilating them into the church and equipping them for ministry. We are not content to lead a person to make a decision, but to become a disciple. As we have said many times in the past, we are not content to give out information, we are here for transformation. Jesus said it this way, "Go into all the world making disciples..." then he immediately went on to define what that looks like, "baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit teaching them to obey all that I commanded you." Jesus concluded by saying, if you make this the main thing, "I will be with you until the end of the age." What a great guarantee. At Lifeway we believe that the church grows as people who love God and others cooperate with him to reach those who are far away from him. As for people in our day who have defined church growth I think Gary L. McIntosh defined it best, church growth means, "all that is involved in bringing men and women who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ into fellowship with him and into responsible church membership" (Biblical Church Growth, by Gary L. McIntosh page 18).

Join us on the adventure of a life-time and experience what it means to really live.