The Compelling Need for Spiritual Giants--part 1

As a pastor and preacher, I continually wrestle with the content of the sermon.  On the one hand, we have people who have been in church for decades; people who have heard the story of God over and over again. On the other hand, we have people who are very new to the faith--every story, every thought, is new.  If the sermon goes too deep, it can lose those who are still drinking the milk of God's grace.  Offer too much milk and those who need sweet potatoes and salad and chicken either walk away malnourished, apathetic, or bored.

For the first 22 years of my ministry my sermons were geared primarily to those who were, for the most part, unfamiliar with the Gospel story.  And there are a lot of them!  In those days, one of the compelling ways we reached those not yet connected to the church was through an inspiring, engaging worship event that presented the story of Jesus in a relevant, dynamic, fashion--using dramas, contemporary forms of music, and messages that dealt with every day life and how Jesus can make a difference.    This form of ministry worked well with my generation--Baby Boomers--because most of us had church exposure.  And while we didn't like what we grew up with, we were attracted to churches speaking in our musical and life language.

It's not the same world anymore.  My kids generation did not grow up in the church.  My grandkid's generation will be increasingly "unchurched."  So, while it may work for some, trying to attract new generations to Jesus through a relevant, hip worship service won't cut it for most.  Instead, what new generations want to see is a dynamic, deep, passionate faith lived out in the lives of followers of Jesus--augmented by a worship experience that says: This is a congregation that takes Jesus and grace seriously.

To say it another way: The world today needs Spiritual Giants.  It's had enough of shallow faith--the kind of faith that doesn't think for itself; that comes across as judgmental; that's driven by consumerism and what the church can do "for me;" that seems to always put everything else ahead of faith.

If following Jesus is really what life is all about--people want to see it.  They want to see commitment.  They want to see faith lived compellingly.  They want to see Christians and churches serving, giving, sacrificing, living grace-based lives.

The world needs Spiritual Redwoods.  Men and women of deep-rooted, lived-out faith.  That deep faith will look differently for each of us depending on where we are in our spiritual journey--but it's time for all of us who call Jesus our Lord and Savior, to step up our game and begin to live the compelling Jesus-life we were created for and that the world needs.

During our first 9 years as a congregation God has been shaping us into Spiritual Giants.  In the next 10 years, I believe he's going to ramp up his work in us, so that we as a church and as his followers can be the Spiritual Giants the world desperately need.

In the next few weeks I'll try to tease out what I think I'm talking about!  :)