I was taking the last of my New Employee classes this week. One class was on communication and one of the Big Ideas from that class was "Compliance vs Commitment " and that you really want people to be committed to what you are saying as opposed to just complying. This passed through my brain with little impact but later in the day, this was brought up again and I had an "A-ha" moment. This question of Compliance vs Commitment is really the same argument as the Law vs Grace.

the Law. That's because we simply can't follow the Law -- we are full of sin. But some people ask, "Couldn't God just make us follow the Law?" or "Couldn't God just forgive us anyway?"

The answer is yes He could but no He won't. The answer is the same for compliant.

Christ showed us what being committed to God is like -- even to death on the cross. And the Christ sacrificed himself in exchange for our sins since we can't commit to the Law, we could be commit to God's forgiveness. That's really it -- commit to God's forgiveness and the rest is done for you.

With grace, commitment is the only option God has given us. We can't simply comply with it, because God has done it all. This goes back to one of the profound statements that I have ever heard. It has stuck with me for over ten years and will probably be with me until I die. "Grace brings forth response." Meaning that once you are confronted with the reality of God's grace, you must respond in one way or another. There is no middle-of-the-road, shrug your shoulders kind of response to the grace and forgiveness of God.

So, then, how are we showing our commitment to God?

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There was a good article in our last denominational magazine called "Where Did Our Young Adults Go?" In it, they talked about the fact that the Christian Reformed denomination don't have many young adults, which is defined as people in their 20's and 30's. The article also has some thoughts from people who grew up in a CRC church but have chosen not to attend one now that they are adults.

What the article doesn't mention is that Reformed theology is growing in Christians in that age group. The question I have is why is the CRC denomination struggling with getting members in that age group while denominations like the Presbyterian Church in America is growing?

I think the truth can be found in what the former members said in the article. Instead of focusing on reaching out, the CRC seems to be pre-occupied with itself instead of thinking outside of it's boundaries. It is asking?"Why are we struggling with this?" instead of "How can we reach out?" A similar question, but not quite the same thing.

But what do I know? My church is seeing a lot of young adults being attracted to our church. Not because we have a lot of programs for them, but because they are accepted and we find a place for them. If they have musical talents, they sing or play on a Sunday. If they want to work with our youth group, then we let them. I'm not saying that we are perfect at it, but suddenly, without trying, the church has a lot of people in their late 20's and in their 30's (and I'm one of them!)

What are we doing that other CRC churches aren't?

[Dawn Eden has a great post about her coming to faith,][] which ended her struggle with depression six months later.

It is also note worthy how a book (well, a Chesterton book) got her to see the delight in every day things. And that real rebellion against the world should be hope, not darkness.

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A great blog post on someone reading Chesterton for the first time. Of course, he chose Orothdoxy which is one of his better books, but not totally accessible. The reviewer didn't quite understand Chesterton's reliance on the mystic aspect of Christianity, but he did give it a good read and had deep understanding.

For those who haven't read it, Chesterton thought he was developing a whole new belief system and, when he was done, he discovered it was orthodox Christianity (not necessarily Catholicism, which the reviewer states over and over again. Though Chesterton did eventually become Catholic).

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Scott McKnight hits things hard in this essay [Getting the Gospel Right][]

if we preach a gospel that is entirely focused on “getting right with God” but which does not include in that presentation that God’s intent is to form a community (the Church) in which restored persons live out this Christ-shaped and Spirit-directed spirituality, then we can expect to hear lots of pulpit rhetoric exhorting us that the Church matters.

He calls us to preach, teach, and live out a gospel that truly reflects who God is.

As someone from the Reformed tradition, this should be a simple truth -- because we believe God is Lord over all creation and that everything we do should be a reflection of our faith. Yet even the Reformed churches struggle with the fact that God wants us to be a community.

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