Coffee with Jesus

I wanted to share with you all the biggest discovery of this year for me. This needs to begin with a confession. My life has been marked by inconsistency in regard to “quiet times” or whatever you want to call them (Personally, I eschew the use of that phrase, but that’s typically what everyone calls it, so I’ll call it a “quiet time” in this post.). That is until this year. 2008 is the first year – EVER – that I have had an eight month run of nearly perfect consistency. My best efforts in the past had been 2 maybe 3 months of consistent quiet times. The rest of the time was marked by a quiet time here, then skip 4-5 days and have another one, then have 2 or 3 days, then miss a week, ad nauseum.

There never was a lack of desire. I constantly desired to spend time with Jesus, but I was blowing it on a regular basis. This year, I resolved to do things differently and do something for which I never had much enthusiasm. I began keeping a journal of my quiet times. It did not take long, and I began to love it. I cannot tell you how much my spiritual walk has been enriched because I began taking notes about what I was reading, what the Lord was teaching me, and my thoughts on particular passages. Keeping a journal does a few specific things:

• It makes you deal with the passage at hand. In doing so, it prevents you from always defaulting to your favorite topics or pet passages.
• It helps you remember with more clarity what you have been learning. And if you forget, you can always refer back to your notes.
• If you teach a Bible study, your notes can come in handy as a supplement to your study materials.

Most importantly, my love for the Word, my love for Jesus has grown during this time. I can hardly stand missing a single morning. I always try to make it up on my lunch hour (it’s not the same, but I still enjoy it). My coffee with Jesus every morning has changed my life for the better.

I hope this offers you some encouragement if you are struggling like I was.

Home Groups?

There is a hot topic that keeps rearing its head among us and that is home groups. In the months past, I’ve had several people inform me of their desire to be a part of a home group. So among church leadership we’ve had discussions about home groups. Several questions arise:

• Who will open their homes?
• Who will lead them? (Assuming that the leader doesn’t necessarily have to be the person who opens their home.)
• How would a leader find people to attend their home group?
• When would these home groups occur? On one particular day and time or at various times throughout the week?
• Will there be childcare? If so, where will it be?

All of these questions need answers before we dive in and begin forming these groups. But there is a “chicken or the egg” issue we must deal with first: Who are the home group leaders? We must find people who desire to lead these groups before we can even begin to plan. So it is my prayer that God will call some of you to lead a home group. I don’t believe this topic would keep coming back to our attention if God were not trying to tell us something.

Some of your questions might be:

• If I go to a home group, will I still be expected to attend Sunday School?

First of all, there isn’t a Sunday School gestapo that knocks on your door when you stop attending Sunday School. We are most concerned with your spiritual growth, so if you learn better in a home group, then go to a home group. Sunday School and home groups will be considered equivalent discipleship environments. Home groups will take roll just like Sunday School classes and will be counted in with weekly Bible study attendance numbers.

• Will home groups be Bible studies or fellowships?

Hopefully both. Fellowship is essential in any small group of people if trust and accountability is going to happen. The purpose of home groups is for discipleship and accountability, and fellowship must be in that mix.

• How often would these groups meet?

Home groups would meet weekly, just like Sunday School. This is where it gets sticky. When you meet in a Sunday School class, it is in a classroom which is made for having a class. There aren’t any toys or strewn clothing which need picking up before everyone arrives. So the families or individuals who wish to volunteer their homes would do so with the understanding that there will be extra work each week preparing their house for the home group. In other words, it is a commitment.

I know there are many unanswered questions, but we have a BIG God who has those answers. Prayerfully consider your participation in this effort to start home groups. If you feel so led, please contact me or Pastor Sean and make us aware of your willingness to teach or to volunteer your home, or both.