Grow or Die

When Emily and I were with family a few months ago, I met my four-month-old nephew, Conor.

Along with numerous other topics which are new to a not-yet-father such as myself, we heard a great deal of talk about Conor’s growth during our time in lovely Santa Clara, CA.  Inches, pounds and ounces, chubby or not-so-much, and at what age an infant’s size is considered “normal” were all standard conversational faire for three days.

I couldn’t help but thinking that our small group, our church family, and the Church at large ought to have certain definitions of what is considered “normal” for the growth of a new Christian, a small group, or a church family.

How long will this baby be a Christian before we teach him/her how to study the Bible?

How much time will we allow to pass between this baby’s new birth and incorporation (adoption) into a small group?  Months? Years?

How long will this person be a child of God before we let them know that sleeping with her boyfriend isn’t what God has commanded for His glory and her good?

How long can this baby go without growing before we worry? (“Baby” Meaning: Christian, small group, congregation…)

I grew up in some church cultures where it was incredibly rude to ask the question, “Is what we’re doing working?” This question is usually directed at the sacred cows.  Boy, are we reticent to slaughter them!  We hold on to VBS, Sunday School, the Harvest Festival, what have you, whether or not we are seeing fruit from these activities.  But let me ask,

“If it was your own son, and he wasn’t growing like he should be, would you bury your head in the sand, as you are right now, or would you do something, at all costs?”

I have a sneaking suspicion that we love our kids more than God’s.  I hope I’m wrong.

“The first sign that a tree has died is that it stops growing.”  -Unknown

Death of a Spoiled Brat

Dave Ramsey likes to say there is a whiny, selfish child inside all of us, crying, “But I want it!”

My more charismatic brothers and sisters would call this a spirit of entitlement or of selfishness.  I won’t disagree.

This has been such a big part of my journey in Christ the last six years.  When Emily and I got married, we were given a Dave Ramsey book, which of course (if you know what Dave teaches) called us out of debt and into responsible stewardship of our money. Over the years, as the Kaiser family has sat down twice a month (or more) to work out the budget, I have felt immense anger and injustice during the budgeting process.  I feel, at the same time, the desire to look mature and holy on paper, but to spend willy-nilly the next day.

It’s a financial outworking of what Paul said of himself:

“I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.”

-Romans 7:21-25 NLT

Jesus, please build into me the unwavering faith that my resources are Yours, and that accordingly, the selfish child might have nothing about which to say, “Mine!”