Collide!

I was thinking a lot about Christian growth this past summer. Praising the Lord and thanking Christ for how far the Spirit's brought me. And asking God anew where I still need to grow. We all need to grow. When you're a kid, you are defensive at the things you don't know. I suppose because you don't know anything, although it's funny, because of course you have to learn! But as we get older, learning and the opportunities to grow become less intentional, and sometimes, less frequent. Yet you reach a certain age when you stop being defensive about what you don't know and are just grateful for the possibility of continued transformation in your life and character. Eventually, we recognize more knowledge just helps navigate life better. Life is hard and life is complicated, and the more knowledge you can have about it, the better!

Last month, I highlighted ways we grow by serving each other. You are invited to grow in your knowledge of God at our new learning space: Collide. Collide is a space for kids, junior high students, and adults to find more energy for growing in our knowledge of Christ. (We still have senior high youth group on Wednesdays, but senior highers are most welcome with the adults on Thursdays too!) I know we all do this in different ways throughout our weeks already. You might even be thinking: I've heard enough talking in church, we need to get on with it! But what exactly is the "it" we're supposed to get on with exactly? So that's why we're gathering together, Thursdays at 6p, beginning October 15.

Mark Noll once famously quipped: "The scandal of the Christian mind is that there is not much of a Christian mind." Collide is a space for us together, to humbly but tenaciously have a Christian mind. We aim to be a community that promotes growth in each other as believers in our thinking about God, one another, and the world.

Can I share an observation? Sometimes we think that downplaying the content of God will make us more hospitable communities. But here's why I think that's wrong. Communities that share in only their own thinking create enormous barriers, sometimes insurmountable, to accessing community life. "Why are they doing that? What are they talking about?" However, communities which commit to being truthful and honest are much easier for newcomers to join. Truth is inviting! And interesting! And stimulating! And truth is truth, whether you've been coming for one week or 45 years.

"So let us press on to know the Lord; His coming is as sure as the dawn. He will come to us like the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth." - Hosea 6:3