The truth is that Christians need relationships to grow. We don't grow in isolation from others. We develop in the context of fellowship. Over and over again in the New Testament we find this basic truth: Believers need relationships with each other to grow! Hebrews 10:24-25 says, "Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another ..." God intends for us to grow up in a family. --- Rick Warren (quoted from an article in his newsletter of 1/10/07 )
This past Sunday I shared a message with our church family (and on our Community TV program yesterday) about accepted people just as we accepted by God. We are sharing each Sunday each of our core values. Each of them seems to lead back to these point: we need each other and we want to be together!
Growth happens, spiritually speaking, when we get together for God stuff. That is cool.
The church is not to be a place where people JUST come on Sunday or when they have a need or at certain times of the year. It is intended to be a place where we share life with others. Through this sharing we are encouraged, challenged, find healing, give in many ways, re-charge our minds and hearts and so much more.
We have to plu our lives into the lives of other people. We need each other. That is just the way God made us.
I close with some final quotes from Warren's article:
In fact, we can't fulfill any of God's purposes on our own – and spiritual maturity isn't an exception. Trying to help your congregation become more Christ-like without developing the relationships within the church is like fighting an impossible battle.
Unfortunately, our culture's idolatry of individualism has influenced even the way we think about spiritual growth. So much of the teaching on spiritual formation is self-centered and self-focused, without any reference to our relationship to other Christians. This is completely unbiblical and ignores much of the New Testament...
If you're not having regular fellowship with other believers, you should seriously question whether or not you are really walking in the light...
By the way, one reason many Christians never witness is because they don't know how to relate to people, regardless of what they believe! Because they've never been in a small group or developed friendships, they have few relational skills. They can't relate to unbelievers because they can't even relate to believers! They must be taught how to develop relationships. This, to me, seems obvious and yet very few churches do any teaching to their members on how to relate to each other.
This is why small groups are so critical to the life of your church. Unless you are helping your members develop relationships with one another, you're not helping them grow...
This past Sunday I shared a message with our church family (and on our Community TV program yesterday) about accepted people just as we accepted by God. We are sharing each Sunday each of our core values. Each of them seems to lead back to these point: we need each other and we want to be together!
Growth happens, spiritually speaking, when we get together for God stuff. That is cool.
The church is not to be a place where people JUST come on Sunday or when they have a need or at certain times of the year. It is intended to be a place where we share life with others. Through this sharing we are encouraged, challenged, find healing, give in many ways, re-charge our minds and hearts and so much more.
We have to plu our lives into the lives of other people. We need each other. That is just the way God made us.
I close with some final quotes from Warren's article:
In fact, we can't fulfill any of God's purposes on our own – and spiritual maturity isn't an exception. Trying to help your congregation become more Christ-like without developing the relationships within the church is like fighting an impossible battle.
Unfortunately, our culture's idolatry of individualism has influenced even the way we think about spiritual growth. So much of the teaching on spiritual formation is self-centered and self-focused, without any reference to our relationship to other Christians. This is completely unbiblical and ignores much of the New Testament...
If you're not having regular fellowship with other believers, you should seriously question whether or not you are really walking in the light...
By the way, one reason many Christians never witness is because they don't know how to relate to people, regardless of what they believe! Because they've never been in a small group or developed friendships, they have few relational skills. They can't relate to unbelievers because they can't even relate to believers! They must be taught how to develop relationships. This, to me, seems obvious and yet very few churches do any teaching to their members on how to relate to each other.
This is why small groups are so critical to the life of your church. Unless you are helping your members develop relationships with one another, you're not helping them grow...
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