Category: Christianity

Everybody Has Six Basic Spiritual Needs

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I recently read about George Gallup, who years ago delivered a speech at Princeton Theological Seminary where he shared six basic spiritual needs of all people. This is from the famous survey and research guy…

1. The need to believe that life is meaningful and has purpose – The success of Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose-Driven Life may be evidence that people really are searching for meaning and purpose in life.

2. The need for a sense of a deeper community and deeper relationship – The church is not a building but a community of like-minded people, uniting in the common bond in Christ. Look at the development of sports clubs and civic leagues that often will compete with the church for members’ time and loyalties.

3. The need to be appreciated and respected – Jesus broke the mold with His stance on women and the outcasts of society. God is no respecter of persons and each person is created in the image of God and deserving of dignity and respect. There is no joy in life if we do not feel appreciated at home, work, school or in the church.

4. The need to be listened to and heard – In this communication age where blogging is so prevalent, this may be more true than ever. “Can you hear me now?” No one wants to be voiceless!

5. The need to feel that one is growing in faith – All living things grow. The lack of growth means the living thing is either not a living thing or it has died! If we are alive in Christ, made into a new creation, how can we not continue to grow in our faith? I’m not saying it’s easy, but the Christian life takes effort to develop our relationship with God. How many so-called Christians have settled for the status quo of a mediocre life?

6. The need for practical help in developing a mature faith – That is why the community of faith is so important in the Christian life. Without community, we are left to die cold and alone! It’s like a bonfire where a log has rolled away from the flames. The only way for that smoldering log to be re-ignited is to throw it back on the pile. The body of believers (called the church) is this fire of community that offers practical help from the Bible for developing one’s faith.

Enemies of Relationship Building

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We may agree that building relationships is essential to the mission of Christ and the evangelization of the world, but what are the barriers to our building relationships? Jay Dennis suggests these six “enemies” and I challenge authentic followers of Christ to find ways to overcome them:

1. Past hurts – Everyone has been hurt in a relationship before. How will we overcome that hurt and risk getting involved with others in a meaningful way?

2. Pride – How often do you tell yourself that you will not make the first move in relationship toward someone?

3. Prejudice – There is a hidden enemy that creeps in to all of us that says, “I’m not going to build a relationship with that person” for whatever reason.

4. Guilt – Perhaps you have said something or done something wrong against a person and that holds you back.

5. Busyness – We all have 24 hours in a day and need just a little bit more time to build relationships. We make time for what is important to us.

6. Selfishness – If I am going to take the time to build relationships, I’ll have to give up something else. Choices can be tough. We must decide what is important and what is urgent.

So, which enemy is holding you back?

Building Relationships Jesus’ Way

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If Christianity is nothing else, it is about relationships; with God and with others. Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and the second is to love your neighbor as yourself. It’s pretty direct yet ambiguous as to how to do it, but a great foundation.

Jay Dennis gives some good insight in his book, The Jesus Habits: Exercising the Spiritual Disciplines of Jesus:

1. Jesus took the initiative to build relationships – the woman at the well (in John 4) is a great example of taking the initiative.

2. Jesus didn’t allow prejudice to affect his building a relationship, (her being a lower-class Samaritan). This tells me that He was cross-cultural in His mission.

3. Jesus demonstrated that sharing a meal is one of the best relationship builders – like the invitation of Zaccheus (in Luke 19). Hospitality is such a great way to serve others in the name of Christ.

4. Jesus didn’t give up on building a relationship with someone – like the woman caught in adultery (in John 8). It’s as if He’s telling her that He will not give up on her.

5. Jesus confirmed that relationships are more important than structures and organizations – like when Jesus healed someone on the Sabbath Day and took grief for it (in John 5).

6. Jesus even built relationships in the last moments before His death – like the thief on the cross next to Him (in Luke 23).

If authentic Christianity is going to spread throughout our city and the rest of the world, it will be done through relationships. I’m not against religious broadcasting, but adding people to the kingdom will not reach the world in time – multiplication is needed. We need to teach people how to become disciples of Jesus, yes, but it is more important to develop people into disciple-makers.

Disciple-makers are able to take the good news they received and invest it into the lives of others, who in turn will invest their lives into others. Paul set the example in his letter to his younger disciple, Timothy (2 Timothy 2:2). Let’s start small by finding a few people who have potential to become disciple-makers, and then invest time and effort into them!

How? I like this quote from Dale Carnegie, “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” People are not notches on your belt! Your interest must be genuine.

How Important is Jesus?

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While more than 72% of Americans claim they’ve made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that’s important in their lives today, they’re not quite so dedicated in related commitments:

  1. 17% say a person’s faith is meant to be developed mainly by involvement in a local church.
  2. 44% say they committed to personally make the world and other people’s lives better.
  3. 54% say they’re so committed to having a deeper connection with God that they’d do whatever it takes to get and maintain that deeper relationship.

Source: The Barna Group