The Americanized Church is Devoid of Two Crucial Characteristics

eric — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 21:37:40 -0500

It seems the "Americanized" church is devoid of two crucial characteristics:

1) Dedicated discipleship of Christians towards Christ-like leadership

Christians should be trained to follow Christ through leaders who are upright and excellent examples every day of the week. to be more like Him. A Bible Study buffet of "topics" doesn't constitute discipleship.

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
– 1 Peter 2:2-3

2) Christ-based concern for the physical and spiritual welfare of children.

They are the next generation of leaders and not just "things" that should warrant a baby-sitter (aka programs that keep them from "bothering" adults) at all times.

Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”
– Matthew 19:13-14

Sunday Morning Challenge: How's Your People Detector?

eric — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:36:14 -0600

I was in Taco Villa waiting on my breakfast burrito to be made, this morning (there was a long line in the drive-thru so I went inside). They are usually fast in getting things to you, but it was taking slightly longer, today. It wasn't a big deal to me, but what I saw was impressive.

One of the managers filling the orders noticed I had been standing there for a couple of minutes longer and looked around to see if my order was made yet. She knew my name as we go in a lot, but they always ask when you give your order. (Come to think of it, the lady at the register said, "Hello, Eric." when I walked in.) When the manager looked around and checked with the drive-thru crew and, sure enough, my order had been put by the window. She quickly corrected it and got me on my way.

God brought an amazingly convicting thought to mind, "Why is it, that as a church, we do not notice people around us like we should? Why do we not notice the little things going on, even in church, to see who needs to be ministered to, needs help finding a class or just needs a friend in general?" Out of habit, a lot of us wake up on Sunday mornings, get the kids up, fed and going and we rush off to our classes. We talk with the same people, we go get our Dublin Dr. Pepper, coffee, etc., but we don't notice others that might need some encouragement.

This leads me to my challenge:

I challenge us to make a concerted effort to introduce ourselves to three people on Sunday morning (whether that is in the children's department, at the vending machine, or in between services and Sunday School). Make note (whether mental or on paper) of their names. There will be another challenge next Sunday.

Let's see what God does by getting outside our social microcosm and reaching out to others. We're missing out on a lot of opportunities to minister to others, be ministered to ourselves and forge some new friendships.

Are you willing to test your People Detector?