Polls, Knee Jerk Demographics

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Guest blogger: Bill Lewis – apostle
We have polls for everything. We are questioned, surveyed, prodded for reviews. I cannot buy anything on Amazon without getting an email asking me to review the product, rate the supplier, comment. I get my oil changed and I have an email from the dealer, and then one from the manufacturer. Our political world is polling people everyday to take the temperature of the society. I wonder sometimes who they are asking. Polls make us purely reactionary; we respond rather than lead. And, the Christian world has its pollsters too which make us reactionary as well.

I have read so many articles and books with the statistics neatly packaged with comment and prognosis. The polls can be extremely discouraging. The trends are not good. Reading and following the polls indicate that fewer and fewer people say they need religion. Whole generations are abandoning church. The secularization of the world is increasing, not just in the western world, but across the whole world. As prosperity increases, the need people feel for religion and supernatural intervention decreases. This is true in emerging nations as well as developed nations.

While the polls predict and report decline, we have churches working hard to reach the current generations. There are some very successful churches categorized as mega churches. The statistics say they only represent 4% of church going people. There are a number of reasons for decline. We can always come up with reasons for down turn, but we have very few, if any, answers to turn the tide. Effort has been made, but somehow it comes across as consumerism. Churches are required to cater to an ever increasing number of niches of consumerism. People tend to shop churches like they do at the mall. Does the church provide all the bells and whistles that we think we need? Many times it is children and teen services. Does the church have the facilities for kids? Do they have a vibrant youth program? Sadly, most of the people I know that made a move to a church where they felt their kids would be affected by the youth work have been disappointed in that their kids are now not attending church or serving the Lord. What went wrong? Even some of the parents are now marginal Christians with sporadic attendance.

I like statistics. It gives me a feel for the bigger picture. I also have tried to make adjustments in style, decor, media etc. to be more current with styles and communication. However, all the lights, sound, decor, have not produced an earth shaking rush to church. It has made the atmosphere pleasant and there have been appreciative comments, but no one has become a believer because of the videos, the sound, the music.

So, I have been thinking, praying, pondering, meditating. What are we going to do to change things? Stem the tide of defection? Reach the generations up and coming? What we have been doing has produced people coming to church that live no differently than the rest of the world that does not go to church. That is not working.

I believe that we have to think differently. We do not need to compete with the world. We miss the point about who we are and our mission. The mission is not church attendance. Our mission is not religion. We have to stop talking about church; start talking about Jesus. We must talk about sin and God’s answer to sin. We need to express repentance. Most people need to experience the revelation of their deep lostness and separation from the Creator. Knowing how lost you are, makes the savior that much more precious and amazing.

We do not need more polls, we need Jesus, not the western civilization Jesus, but the Jesus who died and was resurrected for mankind to be saved from sin, darkness, and eternal damnation.

Amazing, the cause of Christ thrived for two millennia without youth groups, Sunday school, and all the other special consumer programs. It was multiplied by the revelation of a risen savior who was truly the Son of God. The message and mission must return to its core values and purpose.

Isms

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Guest blogger – Bill Lewis (apostolic leader, Ohio)

Racism, Nazism, nationalism, globalism, etc., etc. We are awash in “isms.” You walk down the aisle of life and you can choose from hundreds of “isms.” They are those flavors that distinguish you from all the rest of the people. You can become a part of a particular herd and find an identity. Now, your identity chosen will put you in conflict with other “isms.” You get to call them names and extremists and they will return the favor. Lines of protest and war can be formed from the “isms” of choice. You can also join more than one “ism” as long as they are not at strong odds.

We are divided by our “isms.” Conservatism and liberalism are blatantly at war right now. Supposedly each is trying to save our country while they are actively tearing it apart. There seems to be no sanity available for either side. Vilification of each other is far more important than finding commonality. The ancient art of finding middle ground is lost to the all or nothing approach of the hour.

“Isms” infect the church world as well. We have fundamentalism, pentecostalism, Calvinism, Arminianism, liberalism, legalism, to name a few. We gather in our “ism” of choice and hunker down to survive. Often we rail about the other “isms” and extol how great our “ism” is. We all have done it.

But note this, there is no “gospelism.” There is no “Jesusism.” There is no “Christianism.” Sorry for the forced misspelling to make a point. Somehow Jesus was able to present his message, draw the world to him, and not form an “ism.” His life and message is so pure and challenging that you cannot form a schism “ism.” The simple message of Jesus gets lost when we form camps of thought that exclude each other who profess Christ, but more importantly, we build walls that exclude the lost from finding the path to Jesus. “Isms” make the message of Christ narrow and defined by our prejudices. The simple message of grace is lost in the prerequisites of our “ism.”

The world sells a ton of various “isms.” However, the church should do as much as possible to avoid and tear down “isms.” The ground at the foot of the cross is level. Coming to Christ is the great liberation and is offered through faith. It is not a gauntlet of conditions. It is not a ten step program or a flurry of initiations like a fraternity pledge.

The hymn is “Just as I am, without one plea.” It is not “Just as we want you.” There is an acceptance that is going to look strangely varied as people come to Christ. They will be dragging baggage of a broken life, baggage of a former culture, and the baggage of a current situation that is difficult.

The challenge of the faithful is to avoid the “isms” that are so easy to create. Will the lost, the seeker, the broken, the addict, the fringe kids, find a place of acceptance and refuge or the narrow “ism” that you are comfortable with. If it is your “ism:” you will never see them again.

The days of telling people they are of devil for having a tattoo are gone. Telling a young woman to cover her arm in order to serve in church is ridiculous. Being offended by piercings is offensive. Do you love their soul? Do you see a soul in need of love? Or are you too busy defending your “ism?”

There is no Jesusism; just people who try to live like him.

Idealism, Just for Youth?

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Guest Blogger – Bill Lewis (apostolic leader, Ohio)

I try not to be a pest with blogging. I feel that if you are too frequent in your writing, people might just ignore you. So, I attempt to be judicious in sending these out. However, an apostle friend of mine exhorted me to publish more. He was holding an article, telling me that it was good and needed to be shared. So, with a certain reluctance, I agreed to publish more frequently. Here is the article I just wrote…

 Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be Done, on earth as in Heaven…

I have lived my life with a certain idealism that has never been realized. I have striven for this illusive goal, and have missed the mark. I remember sharing my desire of what Christianity should be when I was about 25 with another man just a little older than me. I remember where I was. I was teaching at the Magnolia School and was in the cafeteria talking to this man. He told me that it could never happen. I walked out of that cafeteria thinking to myself, “it will happen!” I moved with determination holding forward that ideal found in the New Testament. I grew up with the people who called themselves the Restoration Movement. They were committed to restoring New Testament principles and life to the church. Yet, as the years went by, it appeared to be a thinly veiled mantra with no power or plan behind it. So many things of the NT were missing.

     Along came the Charismatic Renewal which somehow had been given that name after a few years of dynamic impact in main line denominational churches. This was birthed in Episcopal and Lutheran venues. Catholics were coming by the thousands. Conferences were held in Catholic halls of education. People came from all around the country seeking the power of the Holy Spirit. This was not the Pentecostal movement of the early 1900’s which touched people considered to be the poor and indigent. This was not the Holy Roller crowd which had gained a reputation of sorts. These were the society crowd full of pride and substance.

     In this movement, I received the missing link of my pursuit. He was the Holy Spirit. This baptism completed the ground work for a truly NT experience. The Book of Acts was a possibility. As the Charismatic Renewal was winding down and mainline churches were putting an end to acceptance, people who were being rejected or told to make the Holy Spirit only a personal, devotional part of their lives, began to form small groups and small churches to give expression to the freedom they had found. In this time, it seemed possible to form a NT church.

     However, as is so often the truth, they brought their baggage from Egypt (their past) with them. Church forms were carried over and the new freedoms were ritualized in the context of the old. New teaching emphases created what were called streams of doctrine. Faith stream, laughing stream, submission stream, plain people stream and many others were formed. Some really were not streams, but extremes.

     I am still looking for the ideal of the NT church. Looking for the Book of Acts people. I have had glimpses, short experiences with it, but so far, nothing sustainable. BUT, I am still looking and trying. I still believe.

It’s Not the Church’s Fault

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Guest blogger – Bill Lewis (apostolic leader, Ohio)

The challenges of this period in history are many. Each generation has their challenges. If you were in the 1920’s, it was the Great Depression. The 1930’s had its Dust Bowl and homelessness. The 1940’s were plagued by WW2, the great loss of American lives. The 1950’s had the Korean War which bleeds into this day. The 1960’s found us ensconced in the Vietnam War which was the first war we fought not to win. To this day, we find ourselves immersed in wars across the globe. They have changed to wars of Terrorism. They are illusive, unpredictable, unmarked, suicidal. They are religious, paramilitary, and have no regard for the civilian, in fact, the civilian is the target.

With social media, our world has become more vicious, outspoken, threatening. Any person sitting behind a computer can be bold with their words, taunting, critical, vile, spouting hate, judgment, shaming. They can hide behind the screen. They can be little minded people who in anonymity appear to be big, strong, influencers. Bullying can take place with little or no consequence. And in all the world of “friends on FB,” they are alone. Creepy people are phishing for victims and outrageous fake personas are working to scam and destroy. We have wars in our homes, the attacks are relentless. The smartphone has become attacked by incessant robo calls that plague our peace. Daily we are assaulted.

The question is often asked, “Where is the church?” A far better question is “Where is the Christian?” Church is an easy target. It never seems to satisfy the atheistic, agnostic, I don’t care non-Christian. Rumors abound to the failures of leaders, true or false. Slander flows like water. Accusations that they are after your money, they want to control you, it is nothing more than a club, it is judgmental, the preacher is no good etc., etc. The church is easy to vilify and dismiss. We have to stop inviting people to church for the sake of just church.

The Christian has to be real. This is a one on one message and life. The Christian can no longer put it all on the pastor and other leaders. This is not a spectator sport. If you ask someone to come to church it should be because you are invested in that person and you want them to meet your family of faith. It is not to sit through a service. The attack against the church would rapidly diminish if we were to make it personal.

For instance, some people are rabid football fans. They eat, drink, live the sport. They watch hours of the sport, can tell the names of players, they know the stats, the predict college elite and super bowl candidates. They tailgate, they drive hundreds of miles to be there. They are fans. On the other hand, there is a large section of the population that could care. They get bored watching a game. They know nothing of the nuances of the sport. They would rather do something else. They are NOT sports fans.

We may think everyone should be a Christian. We may think everyone should go to church. The reality is there are millions who are NOT interested. They do not think of church or Christianity. They do not think about spiritual issues. They are NOT Christian fans. Sundays come and it is not different than Saturday or Friday for them. So while Christians pile into church buildings, the non’s are piling into kids sports, bike trails, camping, sleeping in, and they have no guilt, no need, it does not cross their minds.

Meanwhile, we, like avid football fans just do not understand why people do not get it.

The way you make a football fan is to show interest in your wife or girl friend or child or good friend and invite them to watch one with you. You explain the game, some of the rules and slowly point things out to them. You have lots of food, laughter, and answer questions that seem dumb to you because you know so much, but you treat the question as of paramount importance and you do not diss them for their lack of knowledge. You keep it simple. It will grow on them because they like you and want to be with you. Fanship will come much, much later.

Christians have to engage a friend. Church is probably not the first step in the relationship. You live. You share when asked. You answer simply. You are teaching the rudimentary parts of your life with Christ. Eventually, with much patience they will become fans of Jesus. Church should be a place where you take them to meet your faith family and begin to make them apart of the family. Keep them away from crazy uncle Joe, or busybody Aunt Millie. Family has some strange people in it, but with instruction and love, we love uncle and aunt.

Through the years people need people. One has put it “No man is an island.” True Christianity provides a rock of stability in the storm, it provides relationships that uphold us and expresses love. True Christianity is not about the dogma, but about the relationship with the God of the universe, his son, and his Spirit and it is best expressed in community. The church then is a gathering of people for a purpose.

When we lose purpose, we are no longer a church. We are just an organization, drifting. The church does not have to step up, the Christian has to step up!

 

What Happened to Peace and Joy

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I arrived back in the city where I live to discover that while I was away in the eastern part of Canada a young boy tried to burn down the north-end Walmart in my city. You know, the one nearest where I live. So, I drove over to do some basic household shopping the other day. I don’t ever do any Christmas shopping. It was closed. There was enough fire and smoke damage to close the store for the rest of the holiday season. 

So, several days ago I drove to the southend Walmart along with, I am sure, many other northenders. After all, Walmart has what we need and at a decent price. The traffic into the parking lot was bumper-to-bumper. It took a half hour to just get into the parking lot from the nearest stop light. Then, no shopping carts. I mean none. None in the store and none in the outside “place your carts here” locations. So, I followed someone around the parking lot while they tried to locate their car so I could grab their cart once they had loaded things into their car.

The store was packed. You waited at every isle and every turn. But, I finally had everything I came for (nothing with respect to Christmas) and was looking forward to getting out and getting home.  So, cat litter, cat food, dog pads, and dog food in shopping cart I head to the cash out. Well, forty minutes later I was finally out the door heading for my car. Being chased by a little old lady looking to steal my cart as soon as I was finished with it. 

Getting out of the parking lot and back to that nearest stop light – 40 minutes. And, figure this, no coffee. 

So, I arrived home, unpacked everything and poured a strong coffee. And, as I sat in my favourite chair I was thinking about my experience. I wondered what happened to the “great joy” that the angel spoke of when announcing the birth of the Christ child? Luke 2:10 states, “I bring you good news of a great joy…” I didn’t see any joy in my outing. Regretfully, not even in my heart. In fact, I am sure even my countenance did not exhibit any joy. 

Then I got to thinking about the fact that we are celebrating the birth and arrival of the “Prince of peace.” And, believe me, I did not see any semblance of peace on anyone’s face during the whole outing. Anger, yes. Frustration, yes. Impatience, yes. Anxiety, yes. Tiredness, yes. Peace of heart or mind, no!

Is it just me or is there something wrong with this Christmas thing? It seems to me that the worse time of the year to find or see peace and joy is in the mad rush of the Christmas season. 

Could it be that we have taken the Christ out of Christmas? Could it be that there is simply no time to find that peace that so easily escapes us. We are just too busy with the celebration of a Christ-less Christmas. Yes, even the Christians. And, in the busy season when so many extra activities are added to an already busy and full schedule what little peace of heart and mind we regularly experience seems to disappear completely. 

It’s time to take back Christmas for the Christ child. Maybe it is even time for those who do not believe that Jesus is the Christ and have not confessed Him as Lord and Saviour to get off our holiday. Go to work. Don’t take a holiday.  You don’t believe so what is it that you are really celebrating. And, why are you celebrating with a Christmas tree and Christmas presents when you don’t love or worship the Christ. Get off our holiday. Or, celebrate your days off differently and stop living like a hypocrite apparently celebrating the birth of a child you don’t believe in.

Just a recurring thought I have about this time each and every year. Just a thought. 

Loosening the Grip of Being Available

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I work with people and relationships are important to me. I enjoy talking with people one-on-one over a good cup of coffee. I am connected with people via Viber, WhatsAp, Skype, Facebook Messenger, FaceTime, and the list, as you well know, can keep going. Add to this old-fashioned emails and just a regular phone call – you remember, that’s what phones were initially designed for – and you can quickly become overwhelmed.

Of course, as an introvert, I deeply value my personal space and personal time. Time to think, pray, journal, and read my Bible. Time to just be myself and by myself. At times, due to the busyness and involvement of ministry it becomes time to ‘find myself’. Ministry can be overwhelming and all-consuming at times. 

So, I have been on a journey to reclaim my life in what has become an overworked, overspent, and over-connected world. It has not been easy. It has had some blow back. Some people are not happy with me. Others are wondering what has happened as I am no longer instantly available. Some are genuinely concerned and wondering if I am not well or if I am having a struggle mentally, spiritually… It seems I am swimming upstream. I remind myself frequently that dead fish float downstream. Only live ones swim upstream. That helps. 

I have set my iPhone on silent from 9:30p to 9:30a. I am not available during those hours. That allows me time to read in the evening and adequate time for “devotions” in the morning (adequate being several hours). 

I watch a lot less television in the evenings. I am working to keep it at a maximum of 90 minutes which includes watching some news. 

I work on emails for an hour a day. When the hour is over the remainder of the emails wait. I don’t read or answer emails From Friday night to Monday morning. Weekends are free of emails. And, when on the road ministering I only answer emails connected to the ministry I am doing while away from the office.

I no longer automatically say “yes” to a coffee with someone when asked. I would first like to know the purpose of the coffee time to determine if it something I need to be involved in. In other words, is it a good investment of my time. Is it something the Lord wants me involved in or should someone else handle it? Or is it just someone who wants to simply have coffee and chat, you know, spend some time with the pastor, leader, apostle. And you would be amazed at how many people really have no set purpose for a coffee except to touch base and visit. Not against ‘just visiting’ but I am working to “Loosen the grip of being available” whenever and for whoever. This allows me to be “totally there” for the people I do have coffee with and invest my time more wisely and on purpose.

I no longer say “yes” to every offer that comes in to minister. The first reason for that is simply there are too many offers to be able to accommodate all of them. Secondly, often they are wanting me to speak on something that is not within my list of topics that I feel called to teach on. Thirdly, they are often looking for a pastor or a teacher and I am now ministering full-time as an apostle. That’s my calling. That the role I play within the Kingdom and the Church. And the fourth reason is that those who invite me are not looking for a long-term relationship. And, I am not looking for a once-only engagement. I want to build long-term relationships with the people that I minister to.

I don’t answer phone calls unless they are in my contact list. And, even then, I prefer to let the message system pick up all calls so that I can then sit down as my work day is coming to an end and return all the calls at the same time. That way my day’s activities and events are not being constantly put on hold or interpreted for a one or two minute phone call. Same for instant messages and texts. I group them and answer them all at the same time – usually daily, but not always. And, not on the weekends or evenings. I open my snail mail once a week when I have time to deal with it immediately. 

So, I am not disconnecting from the electronic world in which we now live. I have decided that I own the phone and the computer and they don’t own me. I am reclaiming my life and pacing my days to enjoy the time I have been given by the Lord. It’s not “stop the world I want to get off.” I enjoy being very engaged in today’s world and various cultures and the strong issues of the day. I simply no longer want to be involved in the rat race. Remember, if you win you simply become #1 rat. Not a goal I want to achieve.

This past weekend after lunch with my youngest daughter we did Starbucks and the bookstore. It’s a long-standing Christmas tradition between her and I. I found a book while drinking great coffee and simply browsing with no agenda. It confirmed what I am working to accomplish in my daily schedule. I am only part way through the book but it is good and confirming… as well as giving me more fuel for my fire and some new ideas. It is called “To Hell With the Hustle” by Jefferson Bethke. He is a Christian author.

Are You Counting the Cost?

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Sharing the Gospel of the Kingdom isn’t always a safe endeavour. At times, your reputation, your well-being, and even your life could be at stake. According to 2 Timothy 3:12, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

The Bible says that this is a fact. It’s not a “might happen” kind of scenario. There isn’t a chance that you’ll squeak by unscathed. Jesus tells us in no uncertain terms in Matthew 24:9 that you “will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and [you] will be hated by all nations because of me.” Since we represent Jesus as His ambassadors, we will be treated as Jesus was treated.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and again the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” This means that when you are persecuted or rejected because you are a believer …  or as simple as ignored when you share the gospel with someone … there is a behind-the-scenes battle going on. The root, the cause, the underlying opposition is actually spiritual. 

In John 15:18, Jesus told His disciples, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” And He said later,

“If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.” (John 15:20-21 NIV)

Why does this happen?

It happens because the message of the Cross of Christ offends people. The Son of God confronts humanity with their sin. His truth shines a floodlight on darkness, and that makes people uncomfortable – even hostile or angry. So, instead of reaching out for salvation when you share the Gospel with them, people may mistreat you. They may ridicule, or hurt you to get you to stop sharing the good news. 

Don’t think it can happen where you are. Some recent examples in North America….

I read recently about a 19 year veteran of the United States Air Force who was placed under a new commanding officer who happened to be a lesbian. His commanding officer asked him about his views on same-sex marriage. The veteran replied that he did not believe his opinion on the matter got in the way of doing his job. She insisted that he answer the question. As a Christian, he said, he believed that a marriage was only between a man and a woman. Because of his answer, he was immediately relieved of his duties.

A federal judge threatened to incarcerate a high school valedictorian unless she removed all references to Jesus in her speech. In another city, officials prohibited senior citizens from praying over their meals at the senior citizen center.

In Portland, Maine, three Muslim men murdered a 49 year-old Christian man. He was found beaten to death, with blood splattered on the Bible that was on his bedside table. This did not happen in the Middle East. It happened in the United States.

Friends, persecution in the world is a present reality. At this moment there are people who stand against your message, and some will do whatever it takes to stop you. 

But don’t be alarmed. This has been happening for a long time and it will continue to happen until the Lord returns. It hasn’t stopped the church yet. In fact, the opposite is true – it strengthens and grows the church.

Of course, if no one knows that you are a believer…  

If your lifestyle is no different than your unsaved neighbours…

If you never speak about Jesus…

If you never defend the right of others to believe in Jesus…

Then you have little to no concern that someone may take offense and come again you, your beliefs and your message. You can simply live without fear of being persecuted for your faith because no one will know that you are a believer and followed of Christ. Sad!

Two Words That Change Everything

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Often, as believers and followers of Jesus, we can feel defeated. We pray, we stand in faith, we believe, and then victory seems to be no where in sight. You may pray for and share the gospel with someone countless times, and it may look as though they will never, ever give their heart to Jesus. It may be tempting to throw in the towel. To give up hope.

But God.

No, that’s not a typo.

Repeat after me, “But God.”

Oftentimes in the Bible we see these two short words preceding a great victory. This little phrase, “but God,” occurs 60 times in the New International Version of the Bible. The late pastor and tremendous Bible teacher Ray C. Stedman once wrote regarding this. He said,

“If you want a wonderful experience, take your New Testament and use a concordance to look up the two little words. “but God.” See how many times human resources have been brought to an utter end; despair has gripped the heart and pessimism and gloom has settled upon a people; and there is nothing that can be done. Then see how the Spirit of God writes in luminous letters, but God, and the whole situation changes into victory.”

So, one of the instances of this phrase is in Psalm 74:8-13. The psalmist spoke of a terrible time in Israel’s history where their enemies were seemingly victorious over them. He wrote that these enemies of God burned His sanctuary to the ground – in fact, “every place where God was worshipped in the land” was burned, according to verse 8. Sadly, God’s people were given no signs from Him, and there were no prophets left. No one knew how long this trial would last, how how long their foes would mock and revile God.

“But God is my King from long ago; He brings salvation on the earth.” (Psalm 74:12)

The psalmist then told of God’s awesome power to save. However powerful their foes may have seemed, the psalmist acknowledged that God was the One who split the sea and crushed the head of Leviathan (a monstrous sea creature) and opened up streams and rivers. The day and night belong to Him. He “set all the boundaries of the earth” (verse 17). The psalmist asked God to remember His covenant and appealed to His great mercy, and we know from reading the Old Testament that the Lord was merciful to His people and showed up mightily on their behalf time and time again.

Another place that “but God” appears in the Bible is in Acts 2:22-24. At the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon a group of believers who were gathered in Jerusalem. As a result, they began speaking in tongues, and some of the God-fearing Jews among them thought they were drunk. Then Peter stood up with the other eleven disciples and addressed the crowd. He said,

Acts 2:22-24 “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” (NIV)

Light came into the world (John 3:19), and people tried to stomp out that Light. It almost looked as though they were successful, but God had a different plan. But God stepped in. But God raised Jesus from the dead, and through that extraordinary miracle, He made a way for everyone who believes in His Son to also be raised from the dead and have everlasting life.

That same power brings salvation to the world. Even in the most hopeless situations, the Lord God Almighty can make a way when there seems to be no way.

Remember the two words that change everything in an instant: “but God.”

  CHRISTIAN TRANSFORMATION

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When we become believers in Jesus there is a massive change that takes place in who we are
And, A continuous change – as we continue to grow and mature in our walk with the Lord
A change that begins on the inside
A change that eventually others can see on the outside

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Turning Bad Experiences Into Growth Encounters

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We want to look at how to turn a bad experience into a growth encounter.
Someone once said, “Experience isn’t really the best teacher but it sure does serve as the best excuse for not trying to do the same silly thing again.” If you want your bad experiences to keep you not only from doing the same silly things but to also lead to significant personal growth and maturity, I would suggest you consider embracing the following five actions…
1> Choose a positive life stance
“Life stance” is a term used to describe people’s overall frame of reference – the set of attitudes, assumptions, and expectations people hold about themselves, other people, and the world in general. It comprises, for instance, people’s attitudes towards money, assumptions about their health, and expectations for their children’s future. The product of any person’s life stance is their overall way of looking at things: whether they tend to be optimistic or pessimistic, cheerful or gloomy, trusting or suspicious, friendly or reserved, brave or timid, generous or stingy, giving or selfish. If you can maintain a positive life stance, you put yourself in the best position to manage bad experience and turn them into positive growth encounters.

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