P.O.P. - Progression Over Perfection

What Kind of Church Are We?

Hi, my name is Brie, and today we're talking about what kind of church we are. You may be wondering: what kind of church are we?

We are a church that values progression over perfection — or, as we like to say it, P.O.P. We believe that through theology, therapy, and community, God can turn trauma into triumph.

Consider what we read in Colossians 2:6-7:

"And now, just as you have accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth that you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness."

It takes time to grow in your faith and in your relationship with God.

The Kingdom Works Differently Than Culture

I know what culture says. Culture says things like get rich quick, or how to be an overnight success, or how to 10x your business in five days.

Well, the kingdom of God is very different. It takes time to mature. In fact, Scripture tells us that even Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature.

I remember being a kid, and one of the things I was really excited about was learning how to drive. I would get on my bicycle and act like I was putting my blinker on to turn the corner. I did all the things you do in a car — but really, I wasn't driving a car at all, because I wasn't mature enough to drive one.

One of the things I could not stand as a child was that I wasn't old enough or grown enough to do that yet. It takes time to mature.

Three Things That Help You Grow

I want to give you three things you can take with you — things you can do to grow over time in your relationship with God and in your faith.

1. Grace

Do you know why we have to have grace for ourselves? Paul tells us in Romans 7:15:

"I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate."

Paul is showing us here that every single one of us is going to do things we actually don't want to do — things we know are not best for us. So the only way, as imperfect human beings, that we can continue in progression is to give ourselves grace.

You're going to mess up. I'm going to mess up. We're all going to mess up. But grace covers all of our mess-ups. Scripture tells us that where sin abounds, grace abounds even more — meaning there is more grace than you could ever work up in sin. I promise you, God has more grace for you than you'll ever even know.

2. Guardrails

Proverbs tells us to guard your heart above all else, because it determines the course of your life. If you're going to grow in your relationship with God, you must put into practice some guardrails.

This means there are certain things we don't do anymore once we have a relationship with God. There are certain things we don't say anymore. And honestly, there are certain people we don't hang out with anymore — because we are guarding what we now consider to be our most important, most valuable relationship.

The other thing you want to do is guard your time with God. If you're going to grow in your relationship with him, you must spend time with him. We do that through our spiritual practices:

• Prayer
• Scripture
• Community
• A day of rest that we call Sabbath

3. Guidance

Last, but certainly not least, you have to have some guidance. This is why we believe in:

• Theology — allowing the Word of God to guide us
• Therapy — allowing counselors to guide us
• Community — allowing the friends and family that God put in our lives to help guide us

One word to sum all this up is accountability. In order for us to grow in our relationship with God, we need some accountability in our lives. Proverbs 11:14 says:

"Where there is no counsel, the people fall. But in a multitude of counselors, there is safety."

Scripture is telling us that guidance isn't just something that's good for us — without it we fall, and with it we are safe.

Roots Determine Your Fruit

Remember that our roots determine our fruit. And like any farmer knows, it takes time for those roots to grow down deep before you see the fruit you want to see in your life.

You can believe this, from Philippians 1:6:

"And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."

We take the steps, and God does the good work on the inside of us.

An Action Step: The Thirsty Thirty

Today, if you want to grow deeper in your relationship with God — progression over perfection — we want you to do something called the Thirsty Thirty.

It's 30 minutes a day:

1. 10 minutes in prayer
2. 10 minutes reading the Bible
3. 10 minutes in worship

We believe that if you continue to do this over time, you're going to see your relationship with God grow exponentially.

So remember, this is who we are. We are a church that values progression over perfection — P.O.P. Go out and live a transformed life.