7 Vital Signs of Spiritual Growth – Introduction

I have a confession to make.  I have been attending church since 9 months before I was born.  For those keeping score, that’s almost 38 years.  I have been a Christian for almost 30 of those years.  However, only recently did I sit down and read the Bible cover to cover.  I read it chronologically, which helped me piece together the story, and that was my goal.  I simply wanted to connect all the dots between all the stories and passages that I’ve read and been taught over my 38 years.  What I learned from this experience is an entirely separate topic for this blog.

Coming out of this adventure, I found myself needing to start a new study in order to maintain my daily time in the Bible.  With little direction, and so many options of where to go next…remember I have a lot of questions now that I want to dig into…I stumbled upon a quick 7-day study on leadership.  I decided to do this study while still contemplating where to go next.  As always happens, out of nowhere [except God’s divine wisdom], a particular day stood out to me.  It practically jumped off the page and screamed “YOU HAVE TO SHARE THIS WITH EVERYONE!” So, this is the best way I know to do such a thing.  Whether one or 1,000 read this, I am going through this exercise as obedience to what I feel God has led me to do.

I ask that you follow along with me for 9 days.  There will be this introduction, 7 posts on the following vital signs, and finally a conclusion on the last day.  Surely, you can stick with me for just these 9 days, and I’ll keep this short and sweet for the most part.  So, here goes:

I recently was the second car to avoid being in a 5 car accident on the interstate in heavy traffic travelling over 70 mph.  As the scene unfolded, I found myself helping an EMT check the vital signs of one of the victims.  Pulse, blood pressure, etc. were all recorded quickly as the assessment took place.  Very fortunately, everyone survived and I was soon on the road home.

As I started to read this particular day’s study material, I was reminded of that event.  We know very well how to assess the immediate well-being of a person physically by checking vital signs.  However, we don’t necessarily have as clear of a picture in assessing the spiritual health of a person or a church.  This particular day pointed out 7 signs from Acts 2 that I think hit the nail on the head.

Acts 2:42-47 is a commonly-used passage when describing a church model.  I have heard and read it a thousand times as you probably have.  I saw it differently this time, and trust you will as well.  You can read it here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts%202:42-47&version=NIV

The 7 vital signs we’ll look at are: Teaching, Prayer, Grace, Giving, Community, Worship, and Witness.

I don’t want to leave the impression that I’ve got it all together.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  In December of 2011, I had a stroke.  And to be honest, I don’t think I had a reasonable conversation with God after that for at least 9 months.  At the time I needed Him most, I was running away.  I don’t study the Bible daily.  I don’t have a mentor currently.  I am not purposefully mentoring someone else.  My prayer life is constantly interrupted by my undiagnosed ADD.  I miss the daily miracles because I’m so busy.  I give money but withhold time.  I resist building community with people who aren’t like me.  I don’t like singing hymns and it distracts me from true worship.  My witness suffers greatly from my occasional foul mouth and bad attitude.

I just strive to do better for Him.

I look forward to the next few days and welcome your feedback.