Jesus. Authenticity. Organacity.

This is the follow-up to the Sunday, Jan. 8 "Family Meeting" in The V Class at Lexington Baptist Church.I want to thank you for your responsiveness to yesterday’s call to attend our annual “Family Meeting.”

I think it’s helpful, each January, to gather as many of our fellowship as possible. I think it’s helpful for us to visualize the full width, depth and spiritual weight of our fellowship.

There are three things that I want to always keep in front of us:

1. Evangelism, in its simplest form, is telling others about Jesus. It’s about me talking about my faith, my faith story, and my relationship with Jesus. It’s not about assessing another person’s approach to Jesus and trying to “fix” something in them. No, it’s me talking about Jesus’ place in my life, and then letting the Holy Spirit work. It’s not about church, our Sunday School class, or baptism, or confirmation or this or that. No, it’s about Jesus. So, I will work to keep Jesus in front of us, we will teach and talk about Jesus, and we will share how Jesus is alive in our lives. Our goal is to communicate that Jesus is alive today, and He is calling people to Him, and life with Him is so much more peaceful and joyful than life without Him.
2.  Authenticity. This is simply exercising the personality that God gave you, and being consistent in that personality in private and in public, at home and in church. It’s not easy, and it comes with some mistakes I assure you. J But, when you focus on being genuine, the Holy Spirit will use other believers to refine your personality without changing it. Our Savior needs genuine people to point others to the saving grace of the cross. Our Savior needs men and women who are genuine about their warts, and abilities, and strengths, and problems because it’s through those that we build relationship with many in order to reach some for our Savior. Be yourself.
3. Organicity. That word even blows my spell check’s mind. It’s a noun. The adjective from it is organic. I want you to hear this from me: Long ago, I surrendered this class to my Savior. Certainly, we work hard to provide opportunities for ministry and missions, small groups, and fellowship together. We plan and promote and celebrate those. We do that because where God is at work becomes a light in the darkness for many people. We want to be that light in the darkness for Lexington. But, we will never get wrapped up in forecasting the future chapters of the class. I know that God is at work in our future. Our desire, as a class, is to be obedient in loving and serving others, and allowing our class to join God at work. So, when you ask, “Scott, what are we going to do with this big class?” my answer will always be, “I have no idea, but I know sovereign God knows, and we will work at the task at hand and respond to Him accordingly.” Honestly, I’m surrounded by too many lost and hurting people to worry about where the class will meet when we outgrow the current room. God will take care of that according to His will for His class and His time.

Last, I am sincere in my prayers for each of you. My daily prayer is for your spiritual growth, and I hope you will pray for mine and Vicki’s. As we grow deeper in our faith, all of our relationships benefit from that. All of them. Marriages are better. Families are stronger. Friendships are sweeter. Evangelism occurs. Personal ministry occurs. Life becomes grounded in the soil of the cross. Here are some things that I do to help my own spiritual growth. These work for me, and I offer them only as suggestions. They fit my feet.

1. I pray in the morning and the evening. I pray for God to guide my life, I pray for those I love, I pray for those He puts on my heart, I pray for those who request it, and sometimes I just listen to what the Lord wants to say to me. Prayer is simply being in conversation with Almighty God. Take time to listen to what He has to say. If you don’t know what to say, say this, “Jesus, here I am.”
2.   I study the Bible. I do that when I prepare the lesson, but I also do it when I stumble upon one of the stones in my path. I find it helpful to research what Scripture says about how to approach circumstances. Scripture holds the answer for every question; Jesus directly provides the answers to our questions. Don’t feel  you have to read the Bible cover-to-cover though I applaud and encourage that. No, it’s okay to use the Bible as a guide to life – searching for what God needs me and you to know about the situations we find ourselves in.
3.  I am faithful to Lexington Baptist Church. We are a part of the church’s Sunday School ministry. We are not an island. Attend worship, attend on Wednesday nights and Sunday nights, serve in leadership, get involved in ministry activities, explore missions, and practice stewardship (the out pouring of time, talents and treasure).
4.  I read something “heavy” all the time. I don’t read a lot of the “new” Christian writers though I love anything by John Ortberg. Ortberg is easy and fun to read, and always indicts me. But, I really love to read the books by preachers from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s – these were men whose goal was not to write a book, but to teach the Gospel. It’s heavy stuff, but God teaches me and shapes me through it.
5. I stay involved in our class – not just attending on Sunday morning. I have started attending MOVERS on Saturday mornings, and I love it. I don’t have to attend anything and everything, but I look for opportunities to be among small groups of believers. I love the discussion and the interaction and the laughter involved in that.
6.  I listen for the opportunity to love and serve others. I don’t always hear and react, but I am better at it than I was last year, and that brings me a measure of peace.