Recently, Lynn and I had the opportunity to return to California and participate in a reunion of people that I attended church with from the ages of 7 to about 21. These people are some of my most cherished relationships from the past and while I don't spend much time with any of them, when we gather together, it's like we never left that great church called Midway City Church of the Nazarene.
While we were in California, Lynn and I knew that we would want to have Fish Tacos from Rubios, at least, a couple of times. Now most people that I talk to, when I mention fish tacos, their nose wrinkles up and they usually say, "Gross!" to which I usually bark back, "you've never had a Rubios Fish Taco!" I mean, I haven't had a bad one yet, I enjoy them so much that I think I could eat them for each meal of the day. I'm not sure what it is, but the flavor just completely agrees with me. I think I could live on a diet of just Rubios Fish Tacos.
Now, we all know, that no matter how much we enjoy something, to make it the only thing that we experience would. . . well, it would make it something that would eventually become disgusting to us. Yes, no matter what our love-level for any certain thing, we would soon gag on it if we were to over-indulge ourselves.
The same can be true for our spiritual lives. Our modern experience in American Christendom can sometimes leave us lopsided in the hearing of God's Word, which in and of itself is not a negative thing, but left unbalanced can leave us full of Word with no release or expression of it. Let's face it, today, many Christians are hearers of the Word and spend little to no time in serving or sharing. Obviously there are exceptions to every broadly stroked statistic, but if you have followed our Savior for very long, you know how frustrated we can become when most, if not all of our spiritual discipline is through hearing and not much to do with the doing.
Here at Wanamaker Woods, we have recently seen the need to add balance to our spiritual journey. Know Grow Serve Share has become our balanced approach to Discipleship. Often, when we do small groups, Life Groups or Sunday School, the time shared is all about fellowship, prayer & the study of God's Word. Wow! What's wrong with that? Well. . . I'll answer my own question, nothing! Except, when Christians only study the Word, pray and eat together we sometimes lack the "workout" part of this equation. It's like eating a lot of our favorite food (ie Fish Tacos) and never using the energy to burn those calories. While we are very adept to "Knowing & Growing", that is Worship & Word, as Christians, we sometimes need to get off our spiritual couch and go get a work out. Check out the Biblical examples for this in I Corinthians 12:4-31 & Ephesians 4:11-13.
So how do we get that workout? What are the opportunities to slimming down after having our fill of spiritual food? The answer is "Serve and Share". Yes, when we are willing to be poured out and used for the glory of God, we become useful to God's kingdom-work and hungry again for fellowship, worship & Word. We become attuned to the word of God and how it applies to our lives.
So if your going to be part of a Life Group at Wanamaker Woods, get ready for the opportunity to Know & Grow, that is, worship God and study His Word, but also Serve and Share. That is to serve (Ministry) God in the local church and to get outside the church (Missions) and share the good news with others, returning full-circle and inviting them to "worship" with us.
It really boils down to this, man does not live on fish tacos alone!
See you Sunday, or whatever day this week we meet to Know - Grow - Serve & Share.
Blessings!
Robert Brooks
Executive Pastor/Minister of Music
Wanamaker Woods Church of the Nazarene
Topeka, KS
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