Spiritual Mentoring - Part 3

Let's move now to 2009. As a church, we've been through a lot of trials which have brought about multiple changes in our fellowship of churches, many of which have been very positive. However, we are truly in danger now of becoming a dying and declining church! Not one of us wants that to happen and we have the best of intentions to continue to grow personally and to have an impact on each other and the world. But here's the problem: the hurricane of life in the 1990s, for most of us, was a category 1 or 2 storm. Today, for most of us, it is a full blown category 5!

The demands and opportunities of living in our technologically advancing society are simply mind-boggling. Our time, our energy and even our hearts have become divided. Our lives are so filled with things that we've "got to do" and/or "want to do" that we simply have little or no time for what really (and eternally) matters. Our spiritual lives get so little attention because we think we can fly on spiritual autopilot and that one day we'll be able to come in for a safe landing in heaven. Work, family, hobbies and recreational activities (ours and our kids'), have basically taken over many of our lives, so that even meeting with other Christians twice a week has become a challenge. Daily encouragement via contact with other disciples is almost non-existent in most Christians lives, and yet God's word clearly states how desperately we need just that (see Hebrews 3:12-14; 10:24-25). Most Christians are trying to survive on "life support" via tidbits of infrequent spiritual input from brief encounters with God's word and with God's people. Is this not exactly what Jesus warned his disciples about in the parable of the soils when he said, "Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful" (Mark 4:18-19)?

Spiritual growth does not happen "by accident". Spiritual survival is not possible if we live on autopilot. In fact, the only accident that is guaranteed is a spiritual "crash and burn" with no survivors, unless we get back to prioritizing our spiritual lives again, not just with good intentions, but with a practical plan to which we commit and submit. In our past there was a plan in place, and while not perfect, the fact that we are still here shows that it had an overall positive impact on our lives. Do you have a practical plan, to which you've committed and submitted, which truly prioritizes your walk with God, your involvement in the lives of other disciples and your personal outreach to a lost world? I'm convinced we need such a plan right now, not only individually, but collectively.