A Month of Gratitude, Day 2
November 19, 2008
As I mentioned in my first post, I grew up in a church tradition that put a lot of emphasis on personal salvation. Obviously I’m grateful for that. I met with my pastor when I was twelve, prayed a prayer to accept God’s gift of forgiveness of my sin through Christ, walked down the aisle on Sunday (as Just As I Am played in the background) to publicly dedicate my life to Christ, and then was baptized a few weeks later. The problem was, my faith never grew past that point, because in the tradition I grew up in, that was the primary goal. At North Point I learned there was way more to faith than that.
The second thing I am grateful for from my time at North Point is that I came to an understanding that my salvation (putting my faith in Christ) was only the beginning of my faith journey, not the end. Early on in my life I was shaped by an understanding of the Gospel only as the “good news” that Jesus had come to offer us salvation – a.k.a. the minimum requirements necessary to avoid hell and get into heaven. During my time at North Point I learned that faith in Jesus is about more than that – it’s about a relationship. The “good news” is that Jesus offers a different way to live – a life in relationship with him that begins now and extends into eternity. I don’t want to in any way demean the simplicity of God’s offer of salvation by grace through faith, but I have discovered that Jesus offers us more than just certainty that we won’t go to hell – he offers a new and abundant life now. I have discovered that life growing in a trusting obedient relationship with Jesus is a better way to live. I learned that at North Point and for that I am extremely grateful.
Obviously there’s a lot that shaped this understanding for me, but here are some of the messages and influences that were particularly impactful for me:
- In my first NP small group we read What’s So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey. Andy did a message or a series (can’t remember back that far) on it so our group decided to study the book. Yancey has a similar background to me and his work has profoundly impacted me.
- The second small group I was in at North Point we read The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It rocked my world – totally messed me up (in a good way). Every Christian should read this.
- Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. I read this shortly after coming to North Point at the recommendation of a friend I met at Area Fellowship. If you haven’t read it, read it. ‘Nuff said.
- I could probably list dozens of messages from Andy, but these stand out in my memory:
- The Intimacy with God series
- The Character Under Construction series much of which made it into a great book on developing character called Louder than Words.
- Andy did a great one-week message called The Uncooperative Savior that was a huge influence. I can’t find it in the NP resource center, but they probably have it if you contact them. The bottom line was, “Salvation is free, but following Jesus will cost you something.”
- Andy’s Simple series is a great summation of the Christian faith – Follow. Believe. Obey.
- North Point’s view on spiritual growth known as the “5 Catalysts” has been foundational in my perspective of how people grow. Andy taught through the catalysts recently in his series Five Things God Uses to Grow Your Faith.
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