Go Deeper

The word "deeper" is a buzz word in Christian circles. Sometimes it is used to characterize a church or rate its effectiveness. Often it becomes the word that takes on its own meaning. Most of the time it is used to determine whether or not a church has the best discipleship method.

To be quite honest... I chuckle when I hear that question asked about our church or any church, not because I don't think it is very important but because I know what they really mean. And this question doesn't require a complex answer.

So let's answer that question. How do we know if we are going deep enough? Or when is a church too shallow or better yet, a mile wide and an inch deep? By the way, that always makes me chuckle too when I hear that expression used. 

Ultimately, deeper for me expresses a desire to get closer to Jesus. It is a journey to know the heart of God. It is a process, method, or tool that gets us right up against the mission and heartbeat of our Savior.

So what is the heartbeat of our God? What is His mission? What is the core mission of our Savior when we finally get close enough to figure it out? The answer is clear and reveals that our God is a rescuing God. Our God sent his Son, Jesus to Seek and Save the lost! The deeper you get it becomes very apparent that God longs for us to rescue people. At the deepest spot is a heart that says, go rescue lost people!

So, if you are going deeper as a church, as an individual, as a family then there must be evidence that a person is actively sharing and rescuing lost people. It is impossible to get deeper without a contagious desire to see lost people saved. This "Deeper" journey will produce churches that long to see lost people saved and will find them longing to do whatever it takes to help that happen.

So the next time someone longs to see your church go deeper, ask them to explain deeper and then ask them how deep they have been. A deeper Christian wakes each morning with the mission from his God to seek and save the lost! And he loses sleep thinking about the ways he can verbalize and live that message out until his neighbor, co-worker, stranger, or family member trusts in Jesus Christ. Now that is Deeper!