A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog post that generated a fair amount of response. I heard from people who resonated with the idea that unless we have spiritual energy and passion in the people who participate in the ministry of the church. Congregational renewal starts with people renewal (which is a Holy Spirit thing!).

So a natural question that arises is, how do you enter into renewal like this?

The answer is simple but equally radical. People need to have a chance to encounter God. Since we believe in an incarnational God, this shouldn’t be surprising or stretch us, at least mentally. But it is essential and we all need help doing it well.

In the Discipleship Guides that we wrote for Lutherans, the first unit is called “Experiencing God” and the second one is called “Spiritual Responsiveness.” These are not one and two in the series by accident. Research done by Charles Ridley (sociology professor at Texas A&M University) showed that this is where discipleship renewal begins. Research done in the Reveal study showed the same thing – that people engaging in intentional spiritual practices is the surest path to renewed spiritual life and moving people forward on a path toward increased spiritual maturity. In my denomination (the ELCA) a congregational assessment showed that awareness of a present and active God is the foundational block for congregational vitality.

So the question for all of us who lead is this: How are we leading in ways that help people increase their awareness of an active and present God and what are we doing to help them respond to that God faithfully?

We will explore this more in future posts but in terms of planning Sunday time with people in our congregations, here are a few things to start you thinking:

*  How will I lead in ways that announce and point to God as active and present in our gathering?

*  How will the music we select open people to being more alert to the presence of God in our midst?

*  How will my preaching announce and show that God in Christ is present as we gather?

*  As we celebrate the sacraments, how will we invite people to not just eat bread and share a cup, but come to encounter the living Christ in our worship?

These questions should flow through our leadership as we plan every Sunday. We probably need to be more redundant than we would like – but people need to hear, see and encounter a God who is present and active in our world. Sunday is their chance to practice this. It is also the majority of the time we have to help them in ways that spill over into the rest of their lives.