tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852623342173343477.post8641149156165631149..comments2008-03-22T10:34:40.075-05:00Comments on Fellowship in the Spirit: Room to grow...fellowshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04566632360320851634noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852623342173343477.post-5706409897356368642007-06-03T13:42:00.000-05:002007-06-03T13:42:00.000-05:00Ryan, I think that I have experienced a bit of wha...Ryan, I think that I have experienced a bit of what you are talking about. There is a numbness that can creep in especially when we hear words over and over again without seeing the fruit of them. I really feel like I came to seminary with some of that. I don't think we are alone though. I think there are a great deal of "Church People" in the U.S. that hear the Word time and time again, week in and week out, but it does not change or even affect who they are other than they have a weekly appointment on Sunday morning. I think Jesus had a parable about this; The sower and the seed. Has the church become the dry hard ground? <BR/><BR/>I think for me, I just want more. I don't want to be a cultural Christian anymore. Holiness for me is a word that is my longing (this was not a word that I heard much in my UMC up-bringing). It sums up for me what Christians are called to and just like the idea of the bird, there is both an inward and outward transformation that takes place in order to learn to fly. <BR/><BR/>I'm definitely at a learning stage where I'm bumping my tail on the ground as I try to fly. I believe we are called to soar so I'm going to keep on trying!The J's Simmonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17896581732571684081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852623342173343477.post-63015614319733125852007-06-02T21:57:00.000-05:002007-06-02T21:57:00.000-05:00Personally I feel that I am struggling with the co...Personally I feel that I am struggling with the concept of holiness and what it really means. When you hear words your entire life they tend to lose their sting. Holiness is one of those words for me. Until I am able to take a step back from my cultural Christianity and truly be "rebirthed" into a genuine Christianity I do not know that I can answer the question. It was great to read your post, I hope to get on here soon with something thought provoking...and well maybe I will just strive to not sound ignorant. See yall later Rynorynofohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06467329204301713116noreply@blogger.com