Saturday, April 4, 2009

"I've grown more . . ."

This past Wednesday night we had our 1st Wednesday worship gathering.  1st Wednesday is a night of worship for our church family, we get together and remember Christ's death through communion and we spend a little more time worshipping together than we usually have on Sunday morning.

This past 1st Wednesday was a great time of worship in music and remembering Christ's death.  We had a first at our 1st.  Rick did an exit interview with two of our members who are moving away soon.  It was great to hear Tommy and Claire's thought about NHC.  Lots of good stuff was shared. 

Two things that stood out in my mind from listening to them:

1.  Connection - Tommy and Claire were very well connected in the church.  There were active in serving in ministry, both were plugged into a small group.  The love the church's warmth and friendliness.    What this confirmed to me is that if a partner of NHC doesn't think the church cares for them and loves them reveals probably two underlying issues in their own life:
a.  They don't serve in ministry
b.  They are connected to a small group

If you want to feel connected and a part of your church you roll up your sleeves and serve in ministry to your church.  If you want to feel connected to your church you build relationships with other believers through a small group.  Tommy and Claire love serving!  They "get it"!!

2.  Spiritual Growth - Because I'm part of a contemporary church and a church that is purpose driven I sometimes hear or read that contemporary churches or purpose driven churches aren't effective in helping believers grow spiritually.   I believe someone can grow just as much in a contemporary, PD church as they can in a traditional church.  I believe that spiritual growth more often than not is an individual's responsibility learning to feed self.
Here is what Tommy said about this contemporary, PD church, "I've grown more in the past 6 years than I had in the 39 before that."  Tommy has been a follower of Christ for 45 years.

Tommy helped drive home an excellent point.  You can be PD and contemporary and still mature in your faith.

No comments:

New Site is up and Running

My new web site which now hosts my blog posts is up and fully functional. You can check it out at andylawrenson.com . There is also a ...