One of my favorite authors is N.T. Wright, a retired Anglican Bishop writes, “How can we in the church as a whole be training the people in our congregations so that they will be people who will speak for Jesus in Caesar’s world.”  And so, I have been thinking about how our church fulfills our responsibility to grow disciples.  I have developed a really neat spreadsheet and flow chart.  But it dawns on me, no chart or spreadsheet can be effective if you do not have the desire to grow as a disciple.

Questions To Ask Yourself

Many of you know I love posing questions.  I often close my sermons with a question, and there is often a question at the bottom of the Sunday bulletin.  So today, let me ask four questions.

•  Do you want to deepen your relationship with Christ?

•  Do you want to strengthen relationships within the congregation?

•  Do you want to increase your connections to the surrounding community?

•  Do you want to lead a movement of Jesus followers?

These are not meant to be onetime questions.  You should be asking these question each day.  These are not meant to be yes or no questions.  The answers should be more nuanced.  Take your time, and look for opportunities to grow your faith.

Pastor Hoyt