Growth

August 3, 2007 at 12:10 am (Uncategorized)

By Ed Tyler (from this months e-bulletin)

Growth
Spiritual growth is very personal, often unpredictable, and difficult to put into words. But it is really not as hard to measure as we may think. One of the things that we have been discussing here at CLC is what does a person look like who is growing spiritually. For many Christ-followers spiritual growth is attained through Bible study, prayer and attending a large gathering. Those are things that we do, but don’t necessarily cause a person to grow in Christ.

As a church we believe there are three scripture values that give evidence of someone who is growing spiritually, COMMUNITY, INTIMACY, and INFLUENCE. Our leadeship team in our last meeting had a lot of dialogue concerning those values and the scriptures that support them. Some of our discussion was about the meaning of
each of these elements and how we can involve others in our church. Here are some things that we saw as the definitions for COMMUNITY, INTIMACY, INFLUENCE:

What is COMMUNITY?

  • Living continually with other people, sharing, loving, depending on each other.
  • Shared responsibility, co-habitation, shared values and diversity.
  • Enjoy each other.
  • Sharing the deep stuff as well as the surface stuff.
  • Authentic, intentional.
  • Mirror, reflect culture.
  • Body of Christ.
  • Jesus hanging out with tax collectors and sinners.

COMMUNITY Scriptures:
Mark 2:1-12; Acts 2:42-47; 18:24-26; Ephesians 4:11-16; Hebrews 10:25; 1 Peter 2:4-5; 2:9-10; Philemon 1:2.
All of the “one anothers” in scripture.

What is INTIMACY?

  • Knowing God.
  • Trust.
  • Jesus and the Father alone.
  • Love, passions, romance, heart.
  • Authenticity.
  • Commitment, fidelity.
  • Children = birth = new life.
  • Word, worship, prayer, obedience.

INTIMACY Scriptures:
Jeremiah 29:12;; Mark 12:29-31; Luke 12:11 John 14:15; John 15; Acts 2:42-47; 4:13
Various Psalms
Song of Solomon

What is INFLUENCE?

  • Service.
  • Using your giftedness.
  • Being salt and light.
  • Directs and shapes a persons thought and actions either for bad or good.
  • The 12 spies that came back from the Promised Land had an opportunity to influence the whole nation of Israel. 10 out of the 12 influenced the nation.
  • Urgency to display Christ.
  • Taking people into a process
  • Mission, incarnational.
  • Taking oopportunities to explain the way of God.

INFLUENCE Scriptures:
Matthew 5:13-16; 14:13-21; 28:19-20; Mark 12:29-31; Acts 1:8; 16:13-15; 18:24-26; Ephesians 2:8-10; 4:11-16; Colossians 4:5; Philippians 2:11-16; 1Peter 4:10

What are your thoughts? Which aspect of spiritual maturity resonates the most with you? Where are you most in need of growth? What other scriptures came to mind?

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