Hi everyone. Here are a few thoughts I have been pondering. First a little background.

I have experienced two different types of churches in my 30 years of church participation. The one of my youth and early ministerial career was one which emphasized the pursuit and involvement in some spiritual practices, ie. worship attendance, Bible study, evangelism and service, but very little emphasis on the personal relationship with God other than salvation.

The church of my later years focused more on the relational side of life with Jesus and less on spiritual practice. This fit me quite well because I found myself heavily involved in the pursuit of this relationship. I experienced confession to God and forgiveness from God in such a powerful way that what I sought was relational development. I still read my Bible, prayed, served etc., but with less intensity than in my past. 

OK, here is what I have been thinking about….

1. Relationship with God is available to all unconditionally. It is offered to man by God through Jesus and requires only that one receive this gift for the relationship with God to begin.

2. Intentional Christ-like pursuits are the framework for a relationship with Jesus to flourish. This type of faith is active and requires effort! Too often we followers of Christ are passive, expecting for the faith to grow while we casually involve ourselves. Willing to say we love God and others, yet spending our effort and resources on our own personal desires with little thought to what a follower of Jesus might focus on.

3. The practice of spiritual disciplines enhances the God/man relationship. Serious involvement in prayer, worship, Bible reading, meditation, fasting, service, etc., sensitizes one to God and His people and His work. This sensitizing process enhances the man-to-God and man-to-man relationships.

4. A variety of disciplines should be practiced to help one grow in spiritual maturity. To focus on only one area is to “overdevelop” skills, emotions and expectations of others in that area. As an example, one who focuses only on Bible reading might “fall in love” with knowledge and fail to understand the emotion that can come from worship. Another pitfall a person might incur is the expectation of others to place the same importance on Bible reading as they do. This can lead to criticism and arrogance. A more balanced practice of spiritual disciplines allows one to mature in faith in many ways.

5. Because I am a leader in a fellowship I am keenly aware of the leadership by example. I am also aware of the practice of encouraging others to do what one is not practicing themselves. So, my feelings are that church leaders must be personally involved in practicing spiritual disciplines. By doing this one can lead by encouragement and example. It seems to me that if we leaders practice what we preach, then churches will experience spiritual growth followed by numerical growth.