Spiritual formation
Posted on July 30, 2009 | Filed Under Discipleship, Evangelism, News
People wonder what is spiritual formation? It’s just about having an inner life with God. It’s about learning how to live with the companionship of God all the time. It’s about arranging my life so that God can transform me, living in union with God and letting God change me from the inside.
This is very different from what most people do. Most people just try to do the good things, the good Christians are supposed to do. And they feel overwhelmed and burdened and the Christian life just becomes this terrible duty that they would frankly like to offload sometimes. And that’s not really what it’s about. It’s about getting up in the morning and asking God what is it I need to know about you today? Asking God to show me what is my next step? Saying, “Oh, God you showed me yesterday that I’m not a person that really has deep compassion. What is it you would lead me today to become a more compassionate person? What is it you would lead me today to do on a regular basis to become a more compassionate person?
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Community - a relationships phenomenon
Posted on July 2, 2009 | Filed Under Asia and Beyond, Ministries, News
Over the last dozen years my wife, Judy and I have been privileged to encourage a loving community of people to walk with God and reach out to others as light and salt.
It began with one student, then two or three. Then they would bring their contacts together weekly in our home to discover what the Bible says about just about everything. Some had to believe in Jesus, first, and they did. We met every Tuesday, so we called ourselves the Tuesday Group.
As time passed the core became a community centred on Christ, the Bible and the adventure of the Great Commission. Then something happened and they became close, like “family.” So we called ourselves the Tuesday Community.
Judy and I didn’t set out to create a community. It just happened. Being a community is a good thing. We are made that way. It is one of the ways that God keeps us healthy and productive. See Genesis 10:32, Psalm 8:6 and Ephesians 2:19.
Later, the family dispersed physically, as God led them and life took them. They married, had children, bought homes and looked to their careers. Judy and I let them go, but stayed in touch. Weekly studies and prayer ended, but today we meet every few months, with a similar but looser format, this time with babies and toddlers! We also pull together to help one another out—fixing houses, moving, painting and so on.
Recently, one of the men thoughtfully observed what attracted him to the Tuesday Group in the first place. Nigel needed a Bible study group that encouraged discussion without being restrictive, something that gave him freedom. He liked being around people who were serious about the Great Commission, and not, like some, just filling in time, or using the group to meet people.
Why are we still together? Our community meets a need not met elsewhere, Nigel says. Our common purpose is and always was the Navigator vision and mission.
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