For anyone who has committed to a local church but never felt connected, I want to help you. The reason some never experience deep relationships is because the interaction is never pursued outside the weekly gathering. You can’t connect through 1 hour a week. It’s time to go the 2nd mile in committing to intentional checkups.
MORE EPISODES
When we were kids, we were scared of the unknown things that went bump in the night. The older we get, our fears just transition rather than disappear. We can easily find ourselves paralyzed to live the life God has called us to live due to uneasiness.
Each of us will either lead our emotions or be led by our emotions. When certain feelings creep in and begin to alter the way you think, speak, and act, how are you supposed to respond? Ignoring them will not make them go away.
One of the greatest blessings is when a small group begins to feel like a family, but that is also one of the greatest dangers as well if it prohibits others from experiencing the same thing. Are we willing to sacrifice for the sake of others?
Christians should know better than anybody that no one is too far gone. We serve a God who has done the impossible time and time again. So when people come to church in dire situations, do you still believe that there is hope?
The church should be the most friendly, outgoing, warm, hospitable group of people in all the world, but that has not been all of our experiences. The longer we belong, the more difficult it is to remember what it was like before we did.
We all want those people in our lives who will ensure we never walk through dark days alone, but are we that kind of friend to others? Do we provide what we actually expect? To grow deeper relationships takes time and effort. It’s time to go the second mile in intentional availability.
Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Distinctive Discipleship. He is married to Amanda and the father of two sons and one daughter. Travis graduated from North Greenville University with a B.A. in Christian Studies and earned his M.Div. and D.Min. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, with his doctoral focus on family discipleship.