Yesterday I wrote about two of the four common myths surrounding spiritual growth. Here are the remaining two ... Myth number three: Spiritual growth is based on a single experience. Our culture (especially late-night television) tells us that we can buy real estate with no money down and lose weight in only 90 seconds a day. We live in a quick-fix culture. Don't work, don't worry. Many Christ-followers buy into this thinking as well. "I’m only one video or one class or one seminar away from spiritual growth." The truth is: spiritual growth is not one single experience but an accumulation of experiences. In Ephesians 4:11-13, Paul describes the goal for every believer as growing up into maturity. The last time I checked, it takes 35 years to go from a newborn baby to a 35-year-old person. There are no shortcuts. Myth number four: Spiritual growth is about gathering information…
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This past weekend I spoke on spiritual growth at Mountainview (catch the podcast here) as part of our "The Passionate Life of MRS GREN" series. I spent most of the teaching time debunking common spiritual growth myths. Myth number one: Spiritual growth just happens. You don't have to do anything, it just happens. While that might be nice, it's not true. It would also be nice if simply walking in the vicinity of the gym would make my muscles pop out. I'd settle for having to walk within the shadow of the gym. The truth is: spiritual growth begins with a choice. In Philippians 2:12-13 Paul praises the Philippian church for being obedient both in his presence and absence. But he doesn't take it for granted that they will always be faithful. That's why he encourages them to continue to be obedient. Even as we mature, it still takes a…
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I was born and raised in East Peoria, Illinois. That meant several things: my dad worked at Caterpillar Tractors, I shopped at Bergner's department store, and I routinely enjoyed three feet of snow every winter. When we lived in San Diego, people spoke of "visiting the snow." When you lived in Illinois, the snow visited you ... and stayed for a while. While living in California for fifteen of the last eighteen years, we didn't see much snow. We did see snow on the news. If I remember correctly, I think people sent us pictures of the snow. Theologically speaking, we enjoyed the snow vicariously and was content to do so. For some reason, God thought we had experienced enough blue skies and warm temperatures and decided it was time to move us back to where it snows. Which it did this week in a big way. And he used…
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The following is a paragraph from "How do we encourage busy people to volunteer." A year or so ago we borrowed an idea from Fellowship Church, got creative with our own label, and now host periodic “VolunTOUR” opportunities. Guests and members can tour the campus, getting a “behind the scenes” view of the many “first serve” volunteer roles at Granger. We’ve seen the best results with this strategy. It won’t be our last though. I’m sure it’ll change again.
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Here is a good post for anyone who leads worship at a local church. It's from Andy Stanley at North Point Community Church in Atlanta.
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