v 4. Don’t let them waste their time in endless discussion of myths and spiritual pedigrees. These things only lead to meaningless speculations which don’t help people live a life of faith in God.
I guess that very many of us can recall times when we have been involved in discussion that went nowhere and in retrospect was not very useful either. It can happen in families, professional seminars, evening classes and so on. Even Church Growth Groups are not exempt! So what makes for unhelpful group discussions? The key seems to me to lie in that little phrase, ‘they don’t help people live a life of faith in God. ’ Discussion may help sometimes to gain a better historical perspective on our faith and practice, but what we really want is help in living a life of faith. We can share insights into our experience of faith, get a deeper appreciation of Christianity in practice, learn to love and support one another through hard times, and grow to appreciate God’s unfailing goodness to us. That leads us on to mature and responsible living as we follow Jesus.
So let’s focus on a practical issue this week – just how useful have you found the Growth Group to which you belong? And it is not simply what you might learn, it is also about what you contribute, enabling others to grow in their life of faith. The passage we read in Acts 19 is about Paul holding daily discussion groups in Ephesus. The practical outcome was the public burning of various books of magic – a very costly demonstration by these new disciples as verses 18-20 reveal. ‘Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices. A number of them who had been practicing sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars. So the message about the Lord spread widely and had a powerful effect. ‘
Helpful discussion gave rise to positive action – and that had a significant impact on the community.
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