Devotion Archives - King's Grant Baptist Church

Small Group, Big Impact

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” – Acts 2:42

“Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ” (Bonhoeffer.)

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The beloved German pastor and theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, reminds us that our Lord cares greatly about discipleship – faith as a lifestyle more than something flimsy built on religious activity. But, how can Christian faith develop as a lifestyle (a genuine expression of life) in the church today?

A Lesson from Younger Generations

Research Groups have recently reported that although young generations seem to drop out of church, there are large numbers who have remained, and they remain because of meaningful relationships. In fact, many who have remained report they have had a spiritually meaningful and helpful relationship with an adult inside the church, and some have even reported that they have had an adult mentor other than their pastor.

Such findings encourage us to value the influence of relationships within the church, for this represents the foundation for Biblical discipleship. And, this is how faith becomes a lifestyle. Such influential relationships are most often formed from within smaller Bible study groups than from larger gatherings.

A Lesson from the First Church

In the records of the early church, we have discovered how followers of Jesus were strengthened through meaningful relationships. The Book of Acts reports that within the church many lives were changed through relationships that were formed within smaller settings.

Acts, Chapter 2 reports that 3,000 people were added to the church. Chapter four reports that the church had grown to 5,000. Within this massive surge, most historians agree that the growth of the early church took place through house churches that were likely not much larger that 15 to 20 participants. In Acts 2:42, the Bible describes the emerging church of the first century: “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Such writers as Thom Rainer remind us that this passage gives a clear acknowledgment of the importance of the smaller gatherings that foster meaningful relationships so important to our growth and encouragement in faith today.

One significant way the first century Christians encouraged one another was in their devotion to the apostles’ teachings. While no formalized doctrine nor systematic theology had converged with the church at this time, the Holy Spirit-led truths of Jesus (His teachings, facts of His death and resurrection, and eternal life) were taught. When I consider that the apostles sat under the influence of Jesus for three years, I imagine their teaching to be fully in manner and in substance much like their Lord, who through the Holy Spirit continued to grow His followers. The unfolding of Gospel truths before these smaller gatherings reflected a hunger for the truth, and a relinquishment of the old way of thinking and believing.

Today, the church should be a place where relationships mutually influence one another in a hunger for the truth of Jesus and encourage a freedom from former ways of thinking and believing that the world offers.

A Lesson for You and Me

So, this leaves us with two very clear and personal questions offered by the example of the very first church: (1) Am I presently contributing to the church as a place of meaningful influence toward spiritual growth in small groups (do I look for opportunities in smaller gatherings to encourage someone in the truths of Christ)? (2) Am I presently involved in smaller groups of Christian encouragement (Discipleship) so that I am growing spiritually through meaningful relationships?

If Christian faith is to be a lifestyle (more than religious activity), the influence of meaningful relationships is a must! For, it is indeed true: Christianity without discipleship is Christianity without Christ.

Let’s make a difference. Let’s champion meaningful relationships for spiritual growth. This is indeed the church. This is the heart of Jesus.

[ a devotion by Dr. Ken Pruitt, President of Leland Seminary ]

READ – Read Acts 2:42-47 and be encouraged by the simplicity and profoundness of the developing community of discipleship.

[ Read and Research About Authentic Discipleship ]

Applying Biblical Truth

From Pastor Ken…

“Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” James 1:22

So often, we read and understand what God’s Word teaches. But more than we would care to admit, we move on from God’s Word without accurate and immediate personal application.

How can we correct such inactivity with the truth? How can we genuinely apply the Word of God to our lives?

First, time is necessary. Yes, time! Bill Bright with Campus Crusade suggested a minimum of 15 minutes everyday for personal study in God’s Word. John Stott suggested reading three chapters from the Bible every day and studying one of those chapters in depth. When you examine the way you have spent your schedule on any given day, what absorbs most of your time? Have you determined how to fight for personal time in God’s Word?

Second, memorization is necessary. We may often groan at the idea, for so many things already demand our mental energy. But I have realized that efforts with memorization can truly engage you with the meaning of a Biblical truth. And, when you begin your day, you are more apt to take the message with you through an attempt at memorization. You may not remember a verse perfectly, but simply making the attempt will carry the message deeper into your heart.

Third, some form or plan of inductive study is necessary. Inductive study engages one with the Scriptures through digging deeper for the essence of a particular verse or passage. The following is a simple example of such an approach (although there are many inductive studies one can discover through reliable Christians resources).

When you read a verse or passage, ask the simple question, “what is the one thing God is saying to me?”
Follow with the question, “based on what God has said to me, what do I need to say to Him?”
Finally, ask, “what plans can I make to apply this truth to my life in the next 2 days?”

With time, memorization, and a simple study plan, find some way to make personal Bible study a regular and meaningful discipline in your life. I journal a lot, and almost every day I am writing down some answer to the three questions I offered above. Notice that I said, “almost.” Life happens, and sometimes my desired way of studying the Bible does not. Nonetheless, early on I established prompts in my life to keep me posted to a regular discipline of personal study. One prompt I continue to use is to always keep my journal close in proximity. Like my car keys or my phone, my journal is never far away, and with an ocular influence my journal always seems to bid me to slow down and spend time responding to God’s truth. Another prompt I have heard someone use is the phone alarm. This may seem extreme to some, but there are phone apps that will wake you with a verse of the day. But I offer a warning here. Do not allow your personal study time to be reduced to simply a spot on your daily schedule. These prompts are good for establishing the discipline, but they should not be the goal. Eventually, with the right accountability, your study time should be the first thing you think about when awaken each day. Your personal time in God’s Word should negotiate external demands of life, and not the other way around. So, suffice to say, sometimes developing a regular habit of being in God’s Word takes time. But, be intentional. You will be amazed at what can happen when time in God’s Word becomes as regular as waking up, grabbing your phone, and checking your messages.

So, be a doer of the Word. Take time to apply the truth of God’s Word. It is the living Word (Hebrews 4:12), so make sure it is living in you!

Blessings.

READ: Read as much of Psalm 119 as you can in one sitting, and renew your appetite for God’s Truth.

We’d Rather Sit on the Bench?

Ken has been very clearly sharing each week about the reality of community life in the church, which causes us to think about our current relationship with God. Perhaps his biblical challenges have forced you to admit that we as a church have often been simply a casual fan of Jesus, rather than a committed follower of Jesus.

We believe just enough to know that heaven is the place we want to go after this life, but not enough to make actual changes in our lives that will allow God to use us and therefore make an eternal impact on his kingdom.

We believe the mission and purpose of God is to call out pastors, teachers, and missionaries to build his kingdom, but we settle for sitting on the bench, or sidelines, never really wanting to get into the game.

We’re glad we “made the team” by saying YES to Jesus at some point in the past.
We’re wearing the team uniform so others know we are on God’s team, but we really don’t make an impact on the team’s success.
We know there’s a playbook we have been given, but admit we have not read it enough to know the team strategy.
We regularly show up at practice, but make little preparation for the actual game.
We’re content to just sit here on the bench and leave reading the playbook and running the plays to the starting team.

We think to ourselves…

“I don’t expect to get in the game so I’m just fine sitting here on the bench, dressed out, and wearing my team’s colors.”
“I don’t really like practice all that much: the coach is always telling us what to do and how to do it.”
“I don’t like that the coach makes the whole team run, shoot, get in shape, hone our skills, and get prepared for the games.”
“I admit that don’t really DO all that stuff. I prefer just sitting over here on my team bench, next to this little orange water cooler filled with Gatorade.”

So, you may be asking, “Why are you even on this team?”

“Well, it’s because I like the crowd cheering for me and my team, knowing I just might make it to the Final Four and the Championship Game because of all the dedication, commitment, skills, and efforts of those five starters who get all the playing time.”

Wow, I didn’t think I would take this illustration so far, but the more I thought about it, how often is this true in the church?

My faith is all about ME.
My faith is personal.
My church is also about ME, and my preferences.
My church is here, people know how to find us.
My spiritual growth is optional.
Finding my place of service is optional.

But the Bible begs to differ. Faith is not something that we just have or live out personally or in isolation. There is way too much evidence in Scripture that the Christian faith is meant to be carried out in the context of community.

We often seek God’s will in our own lives but fail to realize that God has a will for HIS church.

The church is the gathered group of Jesus followers.
The church is people, those who have confessed allegiance to the One who bought them and saved them, not just to sit and soak, but to serve.
The church is gifted to do exactly what the Lord desires for each of us to do and accomplish.

I’m not talking about just volunteering, although that is expected when we have a corporate mentality of Christianity. I’m talking about truly understanding what the church is all about.

What does God expect of the church?
What is God’s vision that he has shown to pastor Ken?
What does a disciple of Jesus look like?
Why do we gather in worship?
What is the Great Commission (Acts 1:8) and how am I supposed to be a part of it?
What are my spiritual gifts and where can I exercise or use them?

Jesus mentioned that there are two great commandments: to love God, and then to love others (Matthew 28:18-20, Matthew 22:36-40). The whole law can be summed up in these two commands, but the Bible also has a lot to say about HOW we live as believers and followers and disciples of Jesus.

This is why Ken has spent so much time casting vision for King’s Grant, defining who we are as a church, helping us to discover our spiritual gifts, and how to exercise and employ the gifts of grace that God has so thoughtfully supplied.

Let God have his way for this church (Philippians 1:6). Stop being content to sit on the bench.

[ This is re-posted from www.scottchafee.com ]