Take It Personal Part 5: The Group

At the church I attended in college the pastor made reference to a type of letter he received from time to time. It usually read something like this.

Dear Pastor Chris,
When I lived in Madison I used to attend your church and loved it so much. But two years ago I moved to a new city and looked for a church like yours. I've tried so many different places, but just can't find anything that is like it. I really miss the church and wish I could be back there. It makes me very thankful for all that you do there . . . 

He then said that he hates to receive these letters, which surprised me because it sounded like a thankful and encouraging letter, but his concern was greater. 

He hated these letters because they suggested a person had fallen in love with this church, not Jesus.

And the goal isn't the introduce people to a church, the goal is to introduce people to Christ.

This is the fifth post in a series, Take It Personal. My goal is to display the various places many of us put our faith, rather than in Christ. My hope is that those who don't identify as Christian would see a better picture of what true faith (as opposed to false faith) is and that those who identify as Christian would be lead to inventory where they may be following a surrogate, rather than Jesus.

The only place true, biblical faith can be placed is in Christ, a person. Not in intellect or politics or family or in a group.

I've been particularly been confronted by the misplaced faith of "the group" in the past few years. 

I met Jesus through a campus ministry and from fairly early on, I would hear people mention the statistics about the number of involved students who would no longer be walking with Christ after graduation.

For example, one in three students who went of a short term international mission trip would not be walking with Jesus five years after the trip. That's a high number.

I don't want to generalize these numbers (because people are individuals with different stories and different journeys), but I think the best explanation is that people can be drawn in and became committed to a group, but not to Jesus. So upon graduation, when the group was removed, there was nothing left.

This group could be a church. It could be a ministry. It could be a movement or a cause. 

Almost certainly, it will be a good thing, but if it isn't Christ, it's a false place to put our faith and it will fade.

That's the danger of these surrogates. They are almost always good things. It's far easier to be drawn away by a positive than a negative. If I abandon Christ and become a mafioso, I will probably be aware I am making a poor decision. But, if I'm drawn away from Christ by a career in ministry, I may view this as a great thing even though I am unknowingly moving towards something  lifeless.

Pride in your nation is a good thing. Nationalism is destructive. 

Love for your family is a good thing. Idolatry of the family is destructive. 

Groups and communities are great things, but loving and pursuing them more than Christ will be disastrous. 

True faith must be personal and volitional. More specifically, this personal faith must be placed in a person: Jesus. All people put their faith in something or someone. But, as God, Jesus doesn't have the risk of changing when you move cities or move to a new season of life.

A faith that is in Christ and Christ alone is the only genuine expression for those who want to follow him. No substitutes will do.