Attached for growth

Noah finally got his latest cast off yesterday. He was pretty excited because he knew it meant that his baseball season would resume.

Unfortunately, the news wasn’t so good. Noah’s growth plate in his right elbow has prematurely attached itself to the bone, which can apparently cause one of two things to happen: hyper-growth or stunted growth. We are headed to a specialist, but Noah’s still pleased that he can play in the meantime.

The whole thing has made me consider this idea: is it true that whatever we attach ourselves to affects our growth? I can remember my parents telling me when I was young to choose my close friends carefully because I would become like the people I spent most of my time with. When you’re young, I think this is true.

It is still true in some senses. There are certain environments and relationships that can cause us to hyper-grow – places and people who push us and love us into becoming all that God intended. And there are some spaces that stunt our growth.

But here’s the bigger question. Let’s assume the church is a hyper-growth place (which, I do realize, is up for debate). How do we avoid living “in the church?” I suspect that since we think it’s an environment that is safe and positive and healthy we tend to hang out there.

Not what Jesus did.

Churches that are program heavy, that try to be all things to all people (offering multiple sports leagues and full-service opportunities) are actually growth stunting environments, in my opinion. Not only are all these programs taking place inside the church, they require massive amounts of volunteers – who are now hanging out in the church.

Jesus is in the streets. He was 2,000 years ago, and I believe He still is today. Is it possible that we’re wrong about growth environments? What does "in the world but not of the world" ultimately mean?

Reevaluating my attachments.