I'm still on Dallas Willard's The Spirit of the Disciplines. He makes the case that "the churches of the Western world have not made discipleship a condition of being a Christian." You can join a church with no requirement for growing in Christ. I hadn't thought about it that way, but that's probably what has created our "social club" Christians. It makes me wonder how it's different in the Eastern world, or if it is any different, and if so, how?

I think of The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas and their senior pastor's insistence that when you become a member, you agree to support the church by your presence in worship, by giving in proportion to your income with the tithe as the goal, by being involved in some kind of Bible study, Sunday school class or prayer group, and by helping at least once a year in a mission/service project organized by the church. I've often heard the protest that if we "made" our members do those things, we would scare people away. But Church of the Resurrection is the largest United Methodist Church in our Conference, and while I don't have facts in figures in front of me, I think they are raising up more new pastors than any other church in our Conference.

Hmm... Dallas and Adam may be on to something here.

Peace, love and grace.