Dale Cresap's blog

How does your church look to outsiders? Have you been immersed in it for so long that you are unable to see this? Does it look to you like a close-knit community of friends who do the right practices in the right way because they have special access to the truth and are right about everything? Does your church look this way to those from other churches, or from other faith traditions, or to those with no affiliation? If the above perspective was true, would more people be attracted to what you have? Do you ever visit other churches?

Do you want your children to question their faith? If you went to a lot of work to raise them up in the way they should go then you might be reluctant to see them call their faith into question, but they will do it anyhow. What is the alternative? To lead an unexamined faith that has not been tested? Would you want this for them? They will not become my disciples with a faith that they have not contended for. It will be painful for you to watch them wrestle with me, but who do you expect to win? Consider the history of those who wrestle with me.

Are you eager to serve me? Do you feel that you are prepared to do so? To declare a message of ultimate truth is a big responsibility. Do you feel that it is beyond your abilities? You could spend a lifetime increasing your spiritual knowledge and maturity and never feel that you were ready, and by then you would have lost a lifetime of opportunities. Perhaps thinking of your preparation as an academic credential is the wrong approach. You could view it as an apprenticeship program in which you work as you learn and gain experience.

Do you see injustice in the world? Do you believe that you have the answers that would solve the world’s problems? Are you willing to volunteer to be the agent to bring about the necessary changes? Have you done or submitted to the changes required in yourself to make you capable of changing the system? Do you recall the story about the speck in your brother’s eye and the beam in your own? Is it possible that you have not yet done enough of your own internal work that you are able to implement large scale corrective changes in the system? I want you to be able to do this.

Do you see yourself as being on a journey? You are familiar with the concept from your travels, and trips come in both one-way and round-trip versions since you normally want to return home. Do you see your spiritual journey as an excursion and return, or one-way? If you see this as a journey of transformation then you are changed in the process so going back isn’t really an option and there are Biblical stories that support this. Have you already experienced this? Do you ever feel that you are in limbo between a destination you can’t see and an origin you can’t return to?

Do you know many wise people? Do you know many critics? Do you think these are the same? You live in a culture with real problems and even more critics to point them out. Do you find that a negative mindset is prevalent in politics, and within the church and without? Problems are generally obvious enough that it doesn’t take any special discernment to see them. This is regarded as wisdom but it is false wisdom. Godly wisdom has a positive and restorative perspective. Can you look at all the problems around you and see solutions according to redemptive purpose?

You are familiar with the concept of rules from my commandments and the laws of the land that you are subject to as a citizen of your country. Ideally these are the same for everyone. Do you make any rules for yourself that only apply to you? You can create and follow these even without telling anyone else. If you have learned from life experience that things work better for you if you follow certain guidelines, for instance, concerning your dietary habits and sleep hygiene, then you have created rules that are unique to you.

Have you ever copied someone else’s homework? You know you are supposed to do the work yourself, and this is typically only an issue for school children. Yet there are other less obvious ways to do this throughout life. Is your spirituality based on first-hand encounter and experience, or are you tagging alone on someone else’s experience? Do you refer to your faith as a relationship with me? This only makes sense in a direct encounter. You can’t have a relationship with me or anyone else through someone else. The good news of the gospel is that if you will seek me you will find me.

Do you have within you all that you need? You live in an individualistic culture and this is a popular concept, even among believers. Is it true? How is it working out for you? I said that it was not good for man to be alone. This applies more broadly than just having a life companion. You were made to live in community, and in communion with me. Apart from this you are isolated and alienated even if you are financially secure. Do you choose the direction for your life or does it choose you? You refer to your faith as a relationship with me.

Do you remember the story of the lost sheep? The good shepherd left ninety-nine to search for one. What do you conclude from this? If you think of yourself as that one lost sheep are you grateful for the effort? Are you daunted by the Great Commission? Do you think it will be carried out by mass crusades in stadiums? Ask your believing friends what was effective in reaching them. Does the task seem impossible if it has to be carried out one at a time? Faith can’t be mass-produced. I have already given you a powerful lesson in the value of one. Go forth and do it.