Summer is Here!

OK, so maybe we’re still about a week away from the official start of summer. But for any of you who were out and about last Sunday afternoon know that it doesn’t get much more summer-like in Lancaster County than 90+ degrees and 90+% humidity. Praise God that He delivered a little rain and a breeze to cool things a bit.

So, what happens to group life in the summer? Well, we are all trained by our culture to want to “take a break” in the summer. From the time we enter school as a child, we are enculturated into believing that summer is the time when we disengage. Once you become parents, you plan vacations around the time when the kids are out of school. It becomes part of our habits and our rhythm. But, does that pertain to group life?

Well, if your time in group is like school, a place to go to learn information, then the answer is “Yes.” But, if group is how you live out your Christian faith, the answer is radically different. It would be the equivalent of saying, “Whew, summer is here. I can finally stop breathing for 3 months!” And, ironically, the very time when we have the most availability to serve God’s Kingdom purposes, especially as families with school-age kids, is the time when we are most likely to go AWOL.

Listen up. I totally understand that we all need a change of pace. And that’s the beauty of group life. You have incredible freedom to modify your group experience. In fact, it’s necessary! If you have just finished a season of studying God’s Word, it’s time to put it into practice! In fact, that is what it means to lead a worshipful life. God expects us to respond to His Word. If He tells you to “Love your neighbor,” He expects more than, “Wow! What a concept to ponder!” out of you. If He tells you that He crafted you for service and uses your acts of servitude to create Christ-like character in you, a child of God will jump at the opportunity to serve.

So, how do I know so much about how hot it was on Sunday afternoon? Well, my CONNECT group was engaged in Kingdom work in our neighborhood at that time. We were occupied with our Second Annual Flag Day Block Party and Parade. We had tried this as an experiment last year to see if folks would come out to connect as neighbors and it was a HUGE success. So this year, we expanded the party. There was no agenda beyond loving our neighbors in a way which reflects the things we claim to believe about God and people. And once again, the people came in numbers.

Why did they come? Was it because they can’t resist a good party? Was it that we supplied all the meat? Or was it that most of them realize that they don’t really know their neighbors? At our core as humans is the desire to truly know others and to be known by them (another blog post on another day).

And this year, I was asked twice as often about why we were doing this. Last year, the answer was simply about wanting to get to know everyone. This year, the answer was more along the lines of “Well, we claim in church and in our Bible study group that we are supposed to love our neighbors. We decided to try it out and see how it goes.”

Last year, conversations were superficial and neighborly. This year, I personally was invited into 2 deeper discussions of spiritual matters. And, as I wandered through the crowd, I heard others being asked serious life questions, even specifically about the Christian faith. We didn’t go around commenting on tattoos and those who had brought beer. We didn’t pretend that everything is perfect in our lives. We did open up and invite others into our lives and they responded likewise.

The ones God has prepared for party planning did it with excellence. The ones He made to be servants pulled off the enormous plan. Those who are merciful entered into the suffering of others. And those who were made to be evangelists figured out how to listen more than talk and then to speak with relevance and clarity on the things which we know are true.

So, how is your CONNECT group going to stay on mission with God this summer? Take a little time and let me know your ideas for the summer season.