Church | The Future of the Church is Relational, Not Transactional: Consumer or Contributor? - Part 4

Springcreek Church - Garland, TX Podcast

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THE FUTURE OF THE CHURCH IS RELATIONAL, NOT TRANSACTIONAL
Consumer or Contributor? – Part 4
Springcreek Church | Senior Pastor Keith Stewart
September 10, 2023
https://www.springcreekchurch.org/ #realspringcreekchurch
#consumer #contributor #relational #nottransactional #thefutureofthechurch #church #thechurchisnotabuilding #wearethechurch
In a time when more and more people are walking away from the institutional church due to toxic, controlling, and abusive behaviors, it become increasingly difficult to convince people that relationships are worth the risk. Especially when so many have experienced the hurt of relationships rather than the healing that comes in healthy ones. Is it possible for broken people to experience healing relationships? I believe it is. This message will explore how.
SERIES: CONSUMER OR CONTRIBUTOR?
When we were kids, many of us were taught a little finger exercise as we recited, “This is a church, here is the steeple, open the doors and there are all the people.” Somewhere along the way, a good idea got lost – that the church is about people. That simple verse underscored an important truth that God’s church is flesh and blood, not bricks and mortar. In this series, we want to ask, “What if we dared to think differently about church? What if we re-imagined our space to better align with Scriptural truth? What if in simply getting back to the Bible, we ended up seeing the church and being the church more like what God meant us to be? What lies ahead for us as a church is exciting, uncharted territory. But all of it is fueled by the dream of being God’s church in our city.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. We need each other. Why is community important to you? What positive experiences have you had? What negative experiences have you had? Have you ever met someone who was deeply wounded by a church? What happened? How did it affect them? What, if anything, did you say to them?
2. As necessary as relationships are in our spiritual growth, even though we know what they should look like ideally, our experience often falls short of the ideal. The truth is, relationships can heal or they can hurt. And most times, it’s a mixture of both. But what’s supposed to make Christian community different, is the willingness to resolve conflict, confess our brokenness, and forgive one another. Describe the experience of working through a breakdown in communication, resolving a conflict, or forgiving and reconciling with someone. What were the key elements of that process?
3. We often see ourselves as the needy ones in Bible stories as opposed to the ones meeting the needs. Why is that? Why don’t we put ourselves in the position of the one meeting the need?
4. All of us have hurts. Everyone of us has been through some sort of adversity, problem, or overcame some obstacle to get to where we are today. What did you learn? How did you heal? Who did God use? How long did it take? Now ask yourself, how does my experience benefit others? Where might God be leading me to minister to others in pain? What ministry or ministries might benefit from my involvement? How can God use me to lead others to the same resources He used in my life?