He is mighty to save

I want to start by saying that Lindy and I really enjoy the priveledge of being a part of the Josiah venture team this summer. We love the community and the support that we have experienced among these believers who are all united towards a common goal of glorifying God and inviting students to seek Him in Slovenia. At our last meeting we discussed the role of community in moving someone along in the process of knowing God. We also discussed the importance of having an anchor point to look back on symbolizing the commitment made to God.

I am not gifted with the ability to sum things up, but I will try to give you a picture of our discussion without writing a novel :)

Joel Woodard wrote a very good paper that summarizes the way that students seem to be responding to the ministry method of inviting them into a community of believers and allowing them to be a part of "the church" even before they have decided to follow God. Students are invited to be involved and live their lives alongside Christians no matter where they are in their journey towards God. They are invited to be involved in bible study, attend and help out at worship nights and help out at camp. Many students have come to know Jesus by experiencing his love radiating from Christians and by seeing them experience God's presence. In this context they are not pressured to "pray the prayer" to seal the deal, but rather are shepherded towards making transforming steps toward the Father as they come to know Him more. They are allowed to do this in the safety of this community that has accepted them.

As a result of this many believers from this culture cannot identify a day that they gave their life to God and crossed the line from unbelief to belief, from being lost to being saved. Rather, when asked they usually identify one year that they made the most significant decisions (not one but a series of decisions) that drew them closer to the point of realizing their need for God and entering into His family.

Some of us may struggle with the greyness of this reality. Most of us grew up in a youth group culture with altercalls or prayed the prayer in VBS. We were challenged during this meeting too to notice some of the downsides of each of these situations. The one time decision/altercall situation, we'll call modern and the gradual/journey we'll call post-modern. While the modern situation can push people to a concrete crossing line. Many cross the line before they even understand what it means to be a child of God. Many people stop there and label themselves saved/Christian after the prayer even if they never experience transformation or a growing actual relationship with the Lord. In short this has the potential of leaning too heavily on religion not relationship and could have a false sense of security in salvation when they have never actually stepped into a relationship with Christ.

The other grayer post-modern side has the downside of not providing a concrete line of commitment to look back upon. It also can lead to a loss in the sense of urgency as it is very patient and non-forceful. People could also believe that being a part of a Christian community is what saves them rather than having a living relationship with God. We must seek out the "tender balance" as Erin Thomas put it.

Terry Jackson offered a familiar analogy that helped to illustrate both of these. This process of coming to know God, realize your need for God and commit to live for/with God is like the development of a dating relationship which ulitimately ends in marriage. The first months of dating are spent getting to know the other person. This is often through other people (community). During this time you are finding out what defines them and if you can trust them. As the dating relationship deepens you begin moving towards a direction of greater commitment and you begin to see this relationship as unlike any other you have had before. You begin to realize the depth of your care for the other and realize that you need the other. Notice all this comes before the time of commitment.

Then comes the engagement, the time when you say to each other, "Out of everyone else I could have, I choose you. I want to commit myself to you alone. I want to live life with you. I want you to be a part fo who I am." This is a clear, life altering decision, but it was made over time. It is a culmination of a series of decisions throughout the whole process leading up to that time. There is always a story leading up to this point it is not a stand-alone decision. Then comes the ceremony that declares before God and people what your decision is. Christina Stanton recognized that for many, this point of standing up before witnesses and declaring your decision in marriage is a lot like baptism. It is an act of identifying oneself with the other and a symbol (ring or water) that illustrates the decision. This point of commitment is important as an anchor point. A place that can be looked back upon in times of hardship.

At looking at our own lives we can see the reflection of this annology. Our relationship with God really is a process.

-Mary for the MaryLindy team

I (Lindy) am gonna end with some final thoughts:

God is SO timely. These concepts were great to rethink and ponder upon. However, we are both aware that God saves people, not humans or methods. What an encouragement for Josh Patty (JV Missionary) to bring this up as a closing statement and as a word of benediction. What an amazing team.

Also, this time was full of encouragement. This summer is unlike ANY other summer in Slovenia. God has already answered numerous prayers. In Slovenia alone there will be 7 camps. 3 of the seven camps are first time camps and are busting at the seams with anxious kids. The registration for Castle camp, by far the most popular camp, usually fills up last second. This year we have enough students signed up to have 2 camps... and we still have a week left to sign up- GOD IS GOOD! What's even more exciting is that JV has had some doors open up to work with the younger generation. 3 camps will be with Jr. High students. God is at work in Slovenia and we're excited to be apart of it.

We are looking forward to life changing experiences.

on the front lines in battle
-Lindy for the MaryLindy team