kicking around a few ideas

I've been kicking around a few ideas about what should a LifePoint Christ-follower look like. In other words, after a person has been a part of our spiritual community for a while ... how would they be different? What would they value? Those are the sort of questions I've been kicking around (along with ... how do you get there!).

One thought that has kept creeping up is this: practicing our ABC's. I first heard a pastor from Dallas speak about this regarding his church. He said it was their goal to have every member practice their ABC's.

A stands for "Attend worship." I would hope that anyone who considers LifePoint to be their spiritual home would regularly attend our worship gatherings. It's in worship where we encounter God as a community, tell our stories, and reenergize. From the beginning of the Christian movement, Christ-followers have met for worship on a regular basis.

B stands for "Be in a LifeGroup." We believe that simply attending worship will not produce deep, lasting spiritual change. It's surely a good start but more is needed. We emphasize small, intentional communities of people because that is where friendships are developed and strengthened. So much of Christianity is relational -- just look at all the "one another" passages in the New Testament.

C stands for "Contribute to service." One of our core values at LifePoint is that the spiritual life is not a spectator sport. Christ-followers do not watch from the sidelines but look for ways to get involved. It is when we are serving others that we are most like Jesus.

So ... after a person has been a part of LifePoint for three or six months, I would hope they would be a person who is practicing their spiritual ABC's.