WASTING SACRED GIFTS & TREASURES: ILLUSTRATING THE EXTRAORDINARY FOOLISHNESS, OF MOST CAMPUS FELLOWSHIP GROUPS FECA Nsukka (UNN) As a Case Study… Excerpts from a Document I prepared for them sometime years Ago (2009) in the 1st year of my 2year Tenure as their President. It was a 72 page deeply intriguing Document. But of course, like almost everything else that had to do with me, they never did anything with it. They let it all go Away. They wasted the Greatest Gift they ever got from the Creator and Creation: The ‘never-before-seen-and-never-again-to-be-seen’ special gift. The gift of Me. Below are the first few pages: THE FOC MODEL: BUILDING A SPIRITUAL, POWERFUL AND YET EXCITING CHRISTIAN YOUTH FELLOWSHIP I know this now, every man gives his life for what he believes. Every woman gives her life for what she believes. Sometimes, people believe in little or nothing, and so they give their lives for little or nothing. -Joan of Arc We have chosen to give our lives to the most precious tasks of knowing Christ, and the power of his Resurrection, and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering and spreading everywhere the fragrance of Christ. Weve come to know him, and we love him, and so we are filled with an inexpressible joy. And we are looking forward with blessed hope to the crown of Righteousness which the Lord, the Righteous Judge will give on that day to all who have loved his appearing. For we know that as much as we long to see him, he has an even greater longing to be united with us as our beloved Bridegroom. And so we keep pressing on and advancing because the gates of Hell can never stop us. The Search for Relevance Never in history has Christianity in Nigeria been as popular as it is now. But while in many towns, churches dominate every street corner, the nation and her people have never been worse. And many of the worst atrocities are perpetrated by regular church-goers. And so in recent times, an increasing number of people have despised the church. Most wonder, whats the point? Many either decamp to another religion, become stay-at- home pastors or resort to the situation where going to a Sunday church service becomes a necessary evil or an unavoidable though meaningless ritual. In short, the church is in a search for relevance. Now, with this not-so-pleasant scenario, it becomes pretty clear that fellowship groups are in an even greater search for relevance. The constant question is this, why do I have to go to church and also go to fellowship, especially now Im still wondering why I even have to go to church at all? After all, serving God is largely a private matter. But we know deep down within us the immense value youth-based fellowships have. We know that if we had just stuck with church alone, our spiritual and social lives would not be up to where they are now. We know youth fellowships are more tailored to meet the specific needs of young people but most times we are unable to explain this to young skeptics. It is said that challenges give birth to innovation. And so these challenges of relevance, which are associated with the way young people are, have in them the potential to spark one of the greatest moves of God the world has ever seen even though they seem very difficult and painful. However, this can only happen if we understand and override these challenges. Some of the other realities currently associated with young people are as follows: 1. Many young people are increasingly getting tired of the weak and un-practical Christianity they are being offered. 2. Youths are in a state of transition and so they hardly stay anywhere for a long time. If you were to visit a youth fellowship 5-7 years after leaving, you will hardly know anybody, including the leadership. 3. Many are realizing that so much time is being spent in church and fellowship with nothing much being realized. 4. Youths are looking for anything that will ensure they will have a successful, happy and trouble-free life. 5. As always, youths need fun and excitement 6. Deep down within, almost everyone wants to be part of something significant, make a contribution to society and find meaning in their lives. 7. Many feel that most fellowship people are so into one another that they dont care about outsiders. 8. Many have (with good reason) labeled those involved with fellowship as pretenders because their lives do not reflect what they preach. 9. Many feel that fellowships are more interested in their money than in them. 10. Many see the church/fellowship as the most boring place to be. 11. Most youths are still under their parents and many parents are either skeptical about fellowships or they impose specific ones on their children. 12. Interestingly, many youths are becoming more interested in the supernatural. People want to be able to control their destiny and attract good luck, fortune, love, success, power and happiness in life. 13. Finally, most young people are still dependent on their parents or guardians for finances and so how much they can contribute is highly limited. Jesus said, I will build my church. So it is really God that makes his body grow by sending spiritual waves of growth and opportunity. However it is now the responsibility of believers to catch and ride the waves he keeps sending (like surfers on ocean waves). Many think it takes just prayer, faithfulness, passion and dedication to make a church grow. However, there are lots of faithful, dedicated, prayerful and passionate believers who are leading dying or sleeping churches. They are sincere, but sincerely wrong! Their doctrine is sound, but they are sound asleep! It takes more than just character to productively lead Gods people, it takes a lot of skill (Psalm 78:70), wisdom, sensitivity and most of all, balance.st Therefore as a result of all these realities, when we had our 1 family meeting for 2009 in March, the free atmosphere allowed people express those deep feelings theyve had of what the fellowship should be to them. The picture of our dream FECA Nsukka that was painted that day could be summarized as follows: We want a FECA Nsukka that: 1. Is Christ-centered and Christ-like 2. Is purpose-driven and highly effective 3. Is full of the presence and power of the Holy spirit 4. Provides proper training and development 5. Is full of Love and unity 6. Is fun and exciting 7. Positively impacts society. And so looking at these 7 characteristics, the Lord began to create a picture in my mind and I came to realize that what we were really seeking was to be i. An outstanding Fellowship ii. An outstanding Organization and iii. An outstanding Club And so I tagged it, The FOC model. In the few weeks after the vision came, I never fully realized what I had my hands on. But after being prompted by the Holy Spirit to carefully research on and think about the characteristics of great fellowships/churches, organizations and clubs, I have arrived at astounding conclusions. And I have come to realize that perhaps God has given us a major key to surmounting these seemingly gigantic challenges and ushering in one of the greatest and most powerful moves of God in history among young people! So tighten your seat belts, grab a cup of tea, and maybe a piece of cake, and join me as we explore. And you know what, prepare for an adventure! THE HUMAN NATURE Before we proceed, I would like to share some information that would not just aid our understanding of this material, but will prove to be a powerful tool in understanding how humans beings and groups of human beings (i.e. organizations) work. The Bible talks about man being made of spirit, soul and body. The soul can be further sub-divided into the heart and the mind. As such, we can conclude that man has 4 basic aspects to his nature: i. Spirit ii. Heart iii. Mind iv. Body The Body represents the physical aspect of us. It is the part of us that seeks to survive, to enjoy, and to be comfortable. Its basic motivation is To Live. The Mind represents the mental/intellectual aspect of us. It is the part of us that does not just want to survive, but also wants to thrive. It wants to keep growing and developing. It is the reason why a billionaire or a billion-dollar company keeps on striving to boost their earnings even if they later give away a lot of it to charity! Its basic motivation is To Learn (i.e. to improve or get better). The Heart represents the social and emotional aspects of us. It deals with feelings, perceptions and emotions. It is the sensitive part of us, the part that cares for others. It is the path of us that seeks for acceptance, belonging, happiness and love. Its basic motivation is To Love and be Loved. Finally, the Spirit deals with the spiritual aspect of us. It is the part that seeks to connect with something greater than ourselves (self- transcendence). It is the part of us that desires fairness and is inspired when things are done rightly. For some, the connection is with God or an evil spirit. For others, the connection is with fellow human beings or a great cause. The spirit is the aspect of us that searches for meaning and purpose and seeks to make a contribution. Its basic motivation is To Leave a Legacy. Therefore, the 4 basic motivations of a human being which are associated with the 4 parts of his nature are i. To Live ii. To Learn iii. To Love and be Loved iv. To Leave a Legacy Groups of human beings i.e. organizations can also be studied and understood using this 4 parts model. This will be illustrated as we progress. *TO BE CONTINUED...
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 11:12:58 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015