In high school I worked on weekends and missed a lot of church, but I attended a Christian high school ministry where we gathered for Bible study once a week, then signing and a talk another night a week. It was fun, I also took on some responsibility to serve and help others in their faith during that time. The volume of my spiritual life was turned up during that period of my life. My childhood faith was becoming integrated into who I was.
I was warned by the leaders that unless I was pretty intentional about my spiritual life, I would probably fall away from the faith when I went to college. It wasn’t because there were so many powerful temptations (there were) but because I would be out of normal routine and away from parental influence and encouragement. They said that was just the statistics. It happens to most people. I think they even gave a percentage, like 99% of people fall away. So among my close friends and myself we kept telling them, I’m part of the one percent!
So when I went away from home to attend college it wasn’t at a synodical school. It was to a state school in a nearby state. My dad connected me up with a district manager from his company who were good people and for a long time they would pick me up at my dorm room and take me to church with them. As a family they attended worship and Sunday School. It was nice to go with another family. They were wonderful.
It was also during that time that I met some other college friends who were professing Christians and who regularly attended church. They also were part of a campus ministry that had a weekly meeting of singing and a guest speaker and even set up a number of small group Bible studies. It was kind of a no brainer for me. It felt familiar to my high school routine and I went along. I met my future wife there. I got involved in serving which probably had a lot to do with my becoming a pastor.
What struck me was the seriousness with which they took their faith. It wasn’t just a life style to remain faithful to God. It was life and death, eternal life and death. Everything they talked about and did was so that they could remain close to God by reading His Word daily but with a view toward what we would call evangelism. It was all about rescuing friends and dorm mates and classmates from an eternity without God by sharing Jesus.
Every night my roommate would lead me in prayers where he would name specific individuals who lived down the hallway. It was shocking to me how he, who was such a quiet introvert, and kind of a nerd, would talk to all these guys on the hall. They would open up to him and tell him about themselves and he would pray for them. In his prayers with me at the end of the day he would always quote Jesus from John 16, that God the Holy Spirit would “convict the world (or the specific person named) concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.”
He didn’t just quietly read his Bible or just go to church while everyone else slept. He was out in the hallway every day talking to people about Jesus. He wasn’t the only one. I was moved at how faithfully these people took Jesus so seriously, but yet were happy, fun, hard working normal people.
While no one put down any particular church or ministry or preacher there was this pervasive feeling that we can’t just “play church” but we have to be the church. It came up in not a few public prayers and conversations. It was convicting to me. If the “volume” of my spiritual life got turned up in high school, then this turned it up further. If I’m going to profess faith in Jesus, then I ought not be shy about it. Be who I am in Christ.
It is a life time process of Christian growth when we are following Jesus. Two steps forward and one or even two steps back again is our experience. Yet the question is a good one: are we playing church or being the church? If we really believe this business of Jesus being the Savior of the world, then every encounter with someone can be a divine appointment! We are either touching them with Christ’s love or we are turning them off to it by not just our words but our demeanor and how we carry ourselves. Let’s admit, if God is in control then what other way can we look at those encounters with people? Are we servants of God every day of our lives or are we looking to just do what we want?
So what where are you?
How is your daily walk with Jesus?
Who do you come across every day and how do you touch them with Christ’s love?
Where do you need to be the church instead of playing church?
God will meet you wherever you are and lead you closer to Himself. Just ask.
Rev. Scott Gress is believes in Growing People for Ministry by focussing on leadership, discipleship and teamwork. Contact Scott if you are interested in him working with you or your church. A free 30 minutes sample session is available to explore how you might work best together. The Coaching Leader Podcast is also available on iTunes and his YouTube page. You can contact Scott through email scottgress@me.com or his blog page scottgress.com or at 561-542-4472
"Growing People for Ministry" Leadership + Discipleship + Teamwork
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