I’ve been kicking around a few ideas about what should a LifePoint Christ-follower look like. In other words, after a person has been a part of our spiritual community for a while … how would they be different? What would they value? Those are the sort of questions I’ve been kicking around (along with … how do you get there!).
One thought that has kept creeping up is this: practicing our ABC’s. I first heard a pastor from Dallas speak about this regarding his church. He said it was their goal to have every member practice their ABC’s.
A stands for “Attend worship.” I would hope that anyone who considers LifePoint to be their spiritual home would regularly attend our worship gatherings. It’s in worship where we encounter God as a community, tell our stories, and reenergize. From the beginning of the Christian movement, Christ-followers have met for worship on a regular basis.
B stands for “Be in a LifeGroup.” We believe that simply attending worship will not produce deep, lasting spiritual change. It’s surely a good start but more is needed. We emphasize small, intentional communities of people because that is where friendships are developed and strengthened. So much of Christianity is relational — just look at all the “one another” passages in the New Testament.
C stands for “Contribute to service.” One of our core values at LifePoint is that the spiritual life is not a spectator sport. Christ-followers do not watch from the sidelines but look for ways to get involved. It is when we are serving others that we are most like Jesus.
So … after a person has been a part of LifePoint for three or six months, I would hope they would be a person who is practicing their spiritual ABC’s.