OCTOBER 28

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."

1 John 3:2

When children are young their growth is more obvious, especially when you haven’t seen them for a while. I can remember cringing growing up when meeting relatives, at a family function, who would usually grab my cheek and say something like “what a way you grow!” (Caribbean accent supplied) which coarsely means, haven’t you grown taller since we last saw each other. I have to admit that I have done the same to my friends children.

I suppose I do this due to my fascination with change.

Part of a baby’s growth is the changing of features. Round and chubby transform to tall and lean. Their once clumsy actions become more intentioned and looks become more obviously focused.

But is there this change as adults? After a while we look, apart from maybe a change of hair and weight gain or loss, the same. That is on the outside, but on the inside there could have been tremendous personal growth, but how is that measured? The changes are far less obvious but they are there for those who care to delve a little further than the outward appearance.

Has your church changed? More specifically, has it grown? And if so, how can you tell?

This last question I pondered at the weekend and realized something new which to me, and my church brother Bryn, had not been celebrated before.

I have been part of a small church now for 2 years since God called me there and I have been immensely blessed. Now the common thread with all churches, no matter the size, is that they are not obsessed… well yes obsessed with numbers in terms of church growth. There is an old adage that states ‘if a church isn’t growing, it is dying’. Growth in terms of numbers maybe yes, but growth in terms of the Holy Spirit, well that is an entirely different matter. I have been witness to huge spiritual changes in my small church but the membership has largely remained the same. The change didn’t begin with my attendance there; it began with God.

How do I measure this change? Well this weekend we had a Children’s day led by Pastor Patricia Douglas, Childrens Ministries Leader for the North England Conference, and she said ‘I like this church, there is definitely something special here!’ Numerous visitors and speakers have echoed these sentiments over the past year. But for me is it a sense of renewed purpose and drive, God at the centre and the members working together. Is it the perfect church? No and it will never be, but there has been tangible growth which most times goes unrecognized.

So let us continue to maybe look a little deeper than what may appear on the surface of the church, and celebrate with the brethren so that church will continue to be a happy place.

Our message in song for today, found by Bryn, has a simple but profound message. It says "Stand still and let God move." Click on the picture to listen and enjoy it.

       

     Housekeeping details for you

     The point of this short blog will become clear if you decide to use this reading in the way we intend it. Netherfield Seventh-day Adventist Church believes in healthy churches. You can see what that means if you head to the relevant Healthy Churches page of the website. We also want other churches to be healthy. That means you can join in our campaign to create healthy churches, with healthy people serving the people in those churches.

     A healthy church is one where Jesus comes first. A healthy church is one where the people work together to put Jesus first. One thing we are doing is to join people together to spread that news. I would like you to look at our prayer partners page. This will explain how we want you to use this short devotional. Very basically we want you to find a like-minded Christian friend who you will join with to : choose to pray together every day, decide together on a way to serve other people together, to help them grow as Christians - and to invite the Holy Spirit into your life every day. This blog that you will receive every day simply gives a common spiritual purpose. If you are a newcomer and want to join the blog with this object in mind click here