Skip to main content

LIFEGroup Reflections

Last week I went to a Muskegon Fury game with my LIFEGroup. I love sports. I’ve always found the connection between a fan and a sport to be a strange thing. How is it that we get emotionally connected to a group of people who we’ve never met? How is it that we attach some part of our self worth to whether or not five guys can put more pucks in a net than five other guys?

This phenomenon is especially strange in Michigan. When it comes to the U of M and Michigan State rivalry almost everyone has an opinion. What astounds me is that a great majority of the people who are passionate about the rivalry have never attended either school. When someone asks me if I root for the Green and White or the Maize and Blue, I ask them which of the two schools they went to.

Fortunately I had the pleasure of attending Michigan State and I have had the first hand experience necessary to make such a judgment. The correct opinion is that State is the superior institution. The only proper way to evaluate a University is by its basketball program. The difference is clear. Izzo is a genius. Does U of M even have a basketball team any more?

I’m also astounded at the distain some people show for church. It’s especially surprising when that person has no real experience with a church. I’ve heard a lot of people say things like “I’d go to church but it’s full of hypocrites.” I’ve never been quite sure what that means. If you wanted to avoid hypocrites you couldn’t leave the house. Still, for whatever reason, many people outside the church, who have no experience with the church, have a negative view of the church.

So how can we change people’s view of the church when they won’t come to church? Like some guy once said “You can’t stop people from not showing up.” I guess if we want people to experience the church we are going to have to bring the church to them.

So last week our LIFEGroup brought the church to the Muskegon Fury game. I brought a friend of mine who doesn’t attend a church. This was his first experience of Calvary church. My friend is a little rough around the edges. I’m not sure he’d feel comfortable in a Sunday morning service. I am sure that he was comfortable hanging out with the church at the hockey game. I am also sure that God wants him to be a part of the body of Christ.

My hope is that after a couple of comfortable church experiences my friend might find himself comfortable in the LIFEGroup. I think it’s important for LIFEGroups to go out and do normal things. It gives the world a chance to see the wonderful work God is doing in us. It gives the world a chance to see the love God has shown us as we show it to one another. I have no doubt that God will bring the lost to the church. But I also have no doubt that God wants us to bring the gospel to the lost. Maybe the Muskegon Fury sounds like a weird place to bring the church. Maybe it shouldn’t.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Discussion Questions for Easter

Have several people ask the question, “What’s the most important thing you’ve ever done?” Ask other people, “What do you hope to accomplish in the next several years of your life?” Tell your class that today you’ll be talking about “life mission” or the one most important thing you do that drives everything else. Tell them that Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the defining moment in history, so it should be the defining moment in our lives. Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-19. How does the resurrection impact some of the crucial beliefs of Christianity?  How would Christianity be different if there was no resurrection? How would you be different without the resurrection? Read 1 Corinthians 15:50-58. What are some specific ways that the resurrection gives us hope? If you had been a friend of Jesus when he was on earth, how would the resurrection have impacted your life?  How do you think his followers then were effected by the resurrection? Read 1 Corinthian...
3 comments
Read more

FIGHT CLUB! (iron sharpening iron)

Our youth pastor, Keith Sandison, has implemented "Fight Clubs" with the young men of our church. While these teenagers and young adults aren't actually pummeling each other physically, they are using the opportunity to aggressively challenge one another to be more attentive to their spiritual formation. Right now my son is participating in a fight club focusing on Proverbs. I love it. Keith has created a handout he uses for the fight clubs which lists seven different methods of "generic Bible study". I think the idea started with this post a few years ago, but as he often does; Keith took my thoughts and made them immensely more substantive and beneficial. Check out his system below:
1 comment
Read more

Community Killers Part Four: Complaining

Nothing can tear a group apart faster or more effectively than a spirit of complaining. For some reason, complaints seem to breed faster than rabbits. Once one person’s complaining goes unchecked, it won’t be long until others have joined in and eventually the entire group is sucked into a hopeless vortex of swirling complaints. Often these complaints have little to do with the group, but they have the potential to sideswipe and destroy a group meeting, or if left unchecked, an entire group. Complaints may cover a variety of subjects. Group members might complain about their job, their day, their neighbor, their spouse, or even the church. The role of the leader is to deal with these complaints in a way which is formative for the person, instructive for the group, and glorifying to God. Because a LIFEgroup should be a place where people share their struggles and receive support and prayer, it can sometimes be difficult to know when someone is sharing a difficulty or...
Post a Comment
Read more