We are
continuing our study of Bishop Schnase’s book, "Five Practices of Fruitful
Congregations." These are practices that are common sense on one level, but
in practice we too often fail as a church to put them as fully into practice
as we could and should.Pastor Dawn spoke on
Mother’s Day on Moms and Intentional Faith Development. She shared the
intentional commitment that she and her husband, Russ, had made to
share their faith with their children. They set a
priority in their lives to share not only their love for their children but
to share the love of God with them as well.
Intentional Faith Development refers to the
purposeful learning in community that helps the followers of Jesus mature in
faith, such as Bible studies, Sunday school classes, short-term topical
studies, and support groups that apply the faith to particular life
challenges. Learning in community replicates the way Jesus deliberately
taught his disciples.
The fruit of the spirit that we see in Christ
cannot be learned apart from a network of relationships. In the intimacy of
small groups, we learn not only from writers and thinkers and people of the
past through Scripture and books, but also from mentors and models and
fellow travelers in our congregation. We give and receive the care of Christ
by praying for one another, supporting each other through periods of grief
and difficulty, and celebrating one another’s joys and hopes. The
sanctifying grace of God bears the human face of our fellow disciples.
Additionally, learning in community provides accountability for our faith
journeys; by covenanting together, we stay stronger in our convictions and
habits.
If you are not in a small group for study,
spiritual growth, support, or fellowship, now is the best time to join one
or create your own. We have Sunday School classes, bible studies,
book studies, circles, small groups - all designed to meet this need.
Next Sunday, I will be talking about Risk Taking
Mission and Service. Bishop Schnase reminds us that vibrant, fruitful,
growing congregations practice Risk-Taking Mission & Service. Risk- Taking
Mission & Service includes the projects, the efforts and the work people do
to make a positive difference in the lives of others for the purposes of
Christ, whether or not they will ever be part of the community of faith.
This Practice is one of the fundamental activities
of church life that is so critical that failure to practice it in some form
results in a deterioration of the church’s vitality and ability to make
disciples of Jesus Christ. A church without generous and willing service by
its members can never practice Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship,
Intentional Faith Development or Extravagant Generosity since these depend
upon the time, leadership, effort, prayers, sweat and tears of members and
friends of the church.
"Risk-Taking" refers to the service we offer that
stretches us out of our comfort zone and has us engaging people and offering
ourselves to ministries that we would never have done if not for our desire
to follow Christ. Trinity Church has a long history and tradition of serving
others - locally, nationally and around the world. We can take pride in all
we have done as a church, but we cannot rest on the past. We must continue
to reach out and take risks if we are to be faithful in our service to and
witness for Jesus Christ.
