We are beginning a new series on “Becoming Like Family” as our online community begin to share the daily challenges with friends, and we begin to gather our larger community together.
Why would we bother? One survey found that 59% of 18-29 year old Americans with a Christian background dropped out of church. Four-in-ten American young adults with a Christian background (43%) believe going to church and having Christian friends is optional.
It’s clear that not everyone feels it’s essential, and with our use of technology to form a new church, you might think we mean to simply form an “online” church where no one ever meets in person. But we believe it’s essential. We believe church is essential, but to be clear, we are talking about a community of people.
We’re not saying going to a building is essential
We’re not saying attending a particular kind of worship service with particular kinds of music is essential
Those might be good things. But they are things that churches do, not what makes them a church in the first place.
We want to ensure our church community will have five main characteristics. The first was learning common things about discipleship, and we explored that last week. The second, this week’s focus, is to be spending time in community together.
Some churches do this at bake sales, ham suppers, and such. For us, it will happen in groups that meet regularly to discuss how they’re growing as followers of Jesus. We’ll grow and learn together. Yes, we’ll be learning focused, but we’re also supposed to be a functioning community, a fellowship, in both small groups, and as a large group.
Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Well, it takes a church to raise a follower of Jesus.
Question: Why do you think people might avoid joining a church today? Have you been part of a church before? Why or why not?
Reminder: Last week we saw the importance of reading the Bible together in sync, so our new daily bible readings start today in our mobile app and web site.
Read the Bible in Sync Today
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Are you on vacation? If not, picture yourself there. If it helps, picture some vacation advertisements – a family walking on the beach hand in hand. A hammock and cold drink. A mountain, or a city, or whatever means rest to you!
It feels good, doesn’t it? It’s proven: in a study published in Journal of Occupational Medicine. Three days after vacation participants reported fewer physical complaints, a more positive mood, and better sleep.
But vacation can’t solve everything. The study found the big picture of life unchanged from vacation. There was no change to general life-satisfaction. Five weeks after the end of vacation only the extent of physical complaints was still significantly smaller as compared to the pre-vacation level. Everything else was back to normal. http://occmed.oxfordjournals.org/content/50/3/167.full.pdf
So how do we really rest, if hopping on a plane, renting a cottage or vegetating at home just aren’t enough?
It means clearing our heads and hearts, but not by zoning out, bur rather by focusing them on something else….God!
We asked some people: what helps you clear your head on vacation?
Question: What helps you clear your head on vacation? How long does it take to distance yourself from work?
Just in time for summer's blend of work and rest, Redeem the Commute is starting a new series of daily challenges to help busy people restore life to the commuting lifestyle. This seven week series will look at the meaning and purpose of work, rest, and ancient practices that have helped followers of Jesus to keep the two in perspective and balance for centuries.
