LAKE FOREST, Calif. (BP)–People need to be spiritually connected to others, and Rick Warren listed 10 reasons why.
Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, was among the featured speakers addressing the value of small group ministry during a NEXT conference Feb. 19-21 at Saddleback in Lake Forest, Calif., and cosponsored by Serendipity by LifeWay, the small group ministry area of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Warren’s 10 reasons, paraphrased:
1. Connections are the essence of life. Each person’s body has to connect muscle to bone to nerves for it to work.
2. We were created for connections. The pain of loneliness proves this. Love God and love each other — that’s the Cliffs Notes of the Bible.
3. Love is the ultimate connection. The No. 1 secret of church growth is not marketing or advertising, it’s love. If your church genuinely loves others, you’ll have to lock the doors to keep people out.
4. Connections help us understand life. The more you understand connections, how things fit together, the better you understand life.
5. Connections empower us. Power flows through connections.
6. Connections keep us growing. Knowing the right thing to do is rarely enough. To keep doing it over the long term you need partners.
7. Connections help us balance our lives. Memory is our connection to the past; awareness is our connection to the present.
8. Connections increase our confidence. We gain confidence knowing that others are going with us through this journey called life.
9. Connections make us more productive. The better connected we are to God and others, the greater the impact on our ministry.
10. Connections must be learned. Connecting is neither natural nor automatic. That’s why God sent Jesus.
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Reported by Polly House of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.
