What's up with the discipleship and the relationship with God thing?

Many of us who grew up in church were encouraged or required by our parents to come to Sunday school and church every week and perhaps to even be a part of a youth group.  Our parents were serious about the vows they took when they had us baptized.  They tried to set an example and follow through so we would know about God and church when the time came for us to be in confirmation class and join the church. 

In those days, there were no Sunday children and youth sports.  The stores were all closed because of the “blue laws”.  Sunday was a day when families went to church together in the morning and then enjoyed some time together in the afternoon.  Sunday was set aside for church and family, so we did church and then had family time.  It all seemed to go together quite well.

We learned about the disciples and we were taught that Jesus said, “Go and make disciples.”  In those days, I remember being encouraged to do activities with the church to help people who were less fortunate than we were.  But I am not sure I understood I was supposed to be a disciple, even though my teachers did teach us that we should learn from and do what Jesus did. 

Given all that, I am not so sure why I was surprised a few years ago when I preached about discipleship and several of our members asked me why it was not enough to just be a member.  I equated the vows of membership to the task of discipleship and for some that did not equate at all.  So is it the case that prayers, presence, gifts, service, and now witness were things only to be done on Sunday?  Or are they the essence of the work of a disciple who is following, learning from, and emulating Jesus?

And given all of that it is not surprising when people ask me when things changed such that we are expected to have a relationship with God.  Going to church and Sunday school was what we were taught so why would we think anything more is required?  But the fact is as you read the Bible there is no mistaking what God is wanting and that is a relationship with us.  And in Jesus that relationship became very personal.

So what is up with being concerned about discipleship?  Well, that is what Jesus called us to do.  He said to make disciples in all the world and the fact is: to make one you need to be one.  And as disciples, we are to follow, learn from, and emulate Jesus.  When we do that we grow in our relationship with Jesus. 

Why do we need a close and personal relationship with Jesus?  I can’t tell you how many times people have told me that they have prayed and prayed and not heard an answer from God yet.  First, it is hard to recognize a voice or nudge unless you are familiar with the person.  With God there is no caller ID, you have got to know the voice.  And just one other question.  How would you react to someone who only called on you when they wanted something from you?  The good news is that God is not like us and he keeps reaching out and hoping we will take him up on the offer of real relationship.

So, discipleship and personal relationship are interrelated.  And whether we were taught that or not as young persons, it is what God wants.  And in God’s grace he keeps reaching out to each of us and hoping that we will respond.

Blessings for the journey –

            Marty

What is going on around here?

During my evaluation this year, your Pastor Parish Relations Committee and I examined some statistics concerning our church.  One of those statistics was average worship attendance.  For the last four years our worship attendance has been about the same – right around 155.  That raised the question, are we stagnant?  And the answer is: in some ways we have been.

We wondered what is going on.  Well, it seems to me that many of our longer term members are getting older and are unable to attend regularly.  Because they attend less frequently, they know fewer and fewer of the persons attending, so Bethel has taken on a new feel that they are unaccustomed to.  It seems that our younger couples with children have had their children grow old enough to engage in activities that occur during our worship times.  And it seems that we are all feeling the pressure of the lack of time so, Sunday morning becomes for some a time to sleep in and rest.

Beyond worship there are other indicators that something is adrift.  Many of our studies begin with 12 or 20 participants and have ended with only a handful.  To some of our leaders, it seems that the same people are engaged in everything.  It is almost as if as the church has grown in membership that people have felt like they are not needed so they do not participate.  And there is more talking about people than with people going on.

It is as if we have reached a plateau.  And that is precisely what was described to our leaders two years ago at a leadership retreat.  The leader of that seminar posed that we were standing on the edge and we would either take a step forward or begin a decline.  He posed that thought from the experience of churches our size who have experienced growth like we have and reach the point we have.

But all the news is not bad by any means.  Our youth group has grown by leaps and bounds and is postured to have an increase next year too!  Our worship attendance has grown significantly this year so far.  Our missions team remains aggressive in calling us to serve others.  We still support many local organizations.  And our fiancés have not been in this good a shape since we began our building program a few years back.  By all other measures we are still doing better than most churches our size or bigger.  But God does not ask us to be better than most, he has set us apart and asked us to live a life of love.  Most of us know that if love stagnates it is not good. 

So what do we need to do?  We need to recommit ourselves to becoming disciples.  We need to study – it is a lifelong pursuit.  We need to engage in acts of service – everyone is not called to do everything but everyone should be engaged in something.  And most of all we need to open our hearts to hear what God is calling us to do and be in this community and then set our goals to achieve that calling.

When things are stagnant, people take what could be productive time and use it to worry or to grouse about things.  When things are stagnant, new energy is needed.  This summer we are going to have an offsite meeting to revisit the vision of Bethel and to discern where God is leading us and how we will get there from here.  If you are interested, stay tuned and come join with the church leaders so your voice can be part of what helps us achieve the future God has for us.

Blessings for the journey –

            Marty