10 valid needs of people: appreciation

"Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves." (Romans 12:10)

This verse speaks of community. As a Christian, I am created and wired for community: to laugh, cry, rejoice, with others. Without community, I am missing something critical to growth. An aspect of living in community is appreciating everyone for their diversity: what they offer and what I can learn from them. I learned to treasure differences not cast them off as if their opinions/views/attitudes don't matter: I'm right and they're wrong.

I believe self centeredness and pride destroy community faster than anything else.  In contrast, humility builds up community.

I want to appreciate others and what they contribute to the body of believers. I also want to honor their efforts.

Appreciation for others is needed in the church today.

5 Main Reasons...

There are five (5) main reasons it's important that Christians attend church:

(1) The church is a place to belong

             -The moment a person becomes a follower of Jesus, God's spirit makes him or her a member of God's family, and also a member of the worldwide fellowship, the "universal church."

               Some passages that illustrate why the church is a place to belong:

                          Romans 12:5- true unity of the church is spiritually based

                          I Corinthians 12:12- spiritual gifts are diverse and meant to build up the church

                          2 Corinthians 5:17- Through Christ, they are redeemed and restored, and made into a new creation

(2) The church is a place to serve

              -When someone becomes part of this spiritual body called the church, they are given special  gifts and important tasks

               -Christians need to be involved in local churches so they can discover their functions and practice their gifts

              -In a world of selfcenteredness, Christ's example and command to serve others still applies

                           Some passages on service within the church:

                                               Romans 12:6

                                                I Corinthians 14:26

(3) The church is a place to be served

                  -As Christians serve within the church, they will find God meeting many of their needs through others

                             Passages that illustrate the importance of serving others within the church:

                                               I Corinthians 12:14, James 5:13-15

(4) The church is a place to grow

                     -The spiritual food includes worship, instruction, and counsel. We can only receive these when we are actively involved in a local church. Also growth will occur.

                                 passages illustrating why growth is relevant to local churches:

                                              Acts 20:7

                                               Colossians 3:16

                                               Hebrews 10:25

And finally,

(5) The church is a place to obey

               -The Christian faith is personal, but not private. For a Christian, the local church is a place to practice both a new and growing faith and a mature and wise faith.

               An illustration of how people in a local church should fit together is seen in Ephesians 2:19-22.

               The church family is also referenced to as an extended family.

A final thought: the church is where the Spirit dwells.

Is it Enough?

I grew up in a Christian home and I went to church on holidays (Easter and Christmas). I I went to vacation Bible school once.

That was enough.

Then in middle school (7th grade) I became a Christian and as a result I began to attend my older sister's church where I got involved in their youth group and small group girl's Bible study ("Impact").

That was enough.

During my high school years I attended numerous weekend retreats (conferences as their called now) at various Bible camps (Spring Hill!, Lake Waubesa Bible Camp, Lake Geneva Conference Center and Camp, Phantom Ranch Camp) and the summer between my junior and senior years, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) "National Youth Conference" at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, GA. After that week, I was on a "spiritual high."

Once again, that was enough.

After high school, I went from church to church, and I finally found one that I stuck with for longer than a month (LOL). At Calvary Church, I was a youth leader to high school students. Serving others seemed like a good way to demonstrate my level of faith.

This was enough.

Then in 2008, I began attending Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) because I wanted a quality Christian education. I visited campus twice and loved the friendly staff and faculty and appreciated the spiritual atmosphere. That's the reason I came here amidst the myriad of college options.

Above all, they put Christ center with chapel three times a week and "spiritual emphasis week" (Summit) at the beginning of each semester.

One of my favorite things about IWU is Summit. I love the community of it and gathering in corporate worship with my brothers and sisters in Christ. The "spiritual and emotional high" Summit brought me excitement and I was able to push through and continue growing closer to the Lord.

All this was enough.

And now, after four years of being an IWU student, of attending chapel, Summit's, and sometimes "The Rising", it is no longer enough.

God has changed me continually since I became a student. I can no longer settle with "comfortable" Christianity. No longer is it enough for me to say, "I'm a Christian. I believe in Jesus." yet watch as the world suffers.

I want to go where no one else wants to go.

All the rituals aren't enough.

I pray that in my life I would be the hands and feet of Jesus.

Always <3

All for HIS glory

~Susie

The Vision I Have for the Church

I write this with thankfulness that God has placed in my heart a vision for His people, the church. This is relatively new and fresh so I'm not entirely sure what the vision will look like when it comes into full development.

I do know that revivals start with a vision and that is what I want to see: a revival first in my own personal life, then my friends' lives, my educational institution (IWU), the local church, and then finally reaching the global church.

Writing this vision helps me sort out all my thoughts and organize them.

The vision I have for the church starts with a deep passion for Him, a passionate love and compassion that can't help but set the world on fire.

Next the vision moves toward discipleship: equipping, motivating, training, and encouraging others to gain knowledge as to what it means for members of the local church to realize who they are called to become in God. We are all unique and have something different to offer each other.

There are many issues in the world that need to be addressed. I'm motivated to help those around me because I want to see lives improved not simply because I'm a Christian so I have to be right. I believe (and hope) I have stepped out of that mentality.

Please understand I write this with humility in my heart and mind. God has placed in me a depth for His people and that is what is fueling this vision.

I invite you to pray with me that lives will be turned onto God.

All for His glory + Always <3

~Susie

Summer is Here

I've made it through another semester...and my hardest one :-(

Every day I felt I was fighting through. This past semester some people at my school kept telling me, "you made a bad decision" repeatedly.

I know. Thank you, Please tell me something I don't know. :-/

IWU is a community and that is how they treated me and the decision I made. This part makes me sad: although I felt I was a member of community, I didn't feel that I was a member of the church.

Community and church cannot be used interchangeably.

But now summer is here! Yay! And my life is changing. After graduation (in December of this year) I feel called to do missions work. That is kind of random, I know. I might be going to Thailand for a internship through Youth for Christ.

I had the perfect plan and now I said "yes" to God. My life is His.

Always <3

All for HIS glory

Broken

I am broken.

I feel angry, ashamed, frustrated, used, guilty and a million others that I can't even express in words.

I sought out a cheap thrill. That is all it was. I didn't want a relationship.

Honest.

Now I'm paying for it.

Right now life seems hopeless. I feel like I'm drowning and there is no one to come and rescue me from all the pain I feel.

I sought instant gratification as a way to deal with pain that I experienced at my home church in high school. All I saw was judgment. That is why I don't let people in. If I keep them far, then they can't hurt me and I can't hurt them.

One thing I know perfectly: I'm in a really bad place and only God can bring me out of it.

All for HIS glory + always <3

Direction and Calling

As a teenager in youth group, I loved the speakers at the retreats I attended. Afterward I thought, "He/She was so amazing" or "I really resonated with their message." However, I never gave a second thought to what went into delivering a message with conviction, honesty, and boldness.

Fast forward to my senior year of college. I am a Communication Studies major who recently had a direction shift from wanting to go into the music industry to going into outreach ministry.

This was quite a change for me (obviously). I thought "outreach ministry? That shouldn't be too hard, planning events for teenagers and young adults (college age)." But God took it a step further. I feel He is calling me to be an evangelistic speaker to teens and young adults.

My initial reaction was "Ha! What God? This is completely not me." I still feel that this calling isn't real, for some reason.

I am NOT a public speaker. I would rather be in the background than upfront.

But I'm at the point in my life where it's all about God, I'm sold out to Him and I can't deny whatever He's calling me to.

So if He is legitimately calling me to rise up and declare His faithfulness to the next generation, who am I to question it? I just go with Him as He leads. Every day.

All for HIS glory + Always <3

I am the Church

So often I think of church as a building I go to once a week. Oh, but it's so much more than that!!!

The Spirit of God lives inside of me so I represent Him wherever I go. There are many different denominations of churches out there:

~Baptist

~Charismatic

~Evangelical Free

~Lutheran

~Wesleyan :-)

And too many to list.

But since Christ lives inside of me and claim Him as my Savior, why would it matter what "denomination" I am?

I need to be consistently examining my life to make sure my actions match what I believe.

I am the Church.

All for His glory