My family enjoys watching CSI on TV. I like the mysteries, the search for an answer to "what happened", the determination of following the evidence wherever it takes them. I came home from vacation in the middle of this short series on eternal evidence - Connect - Serve - Invest.
(By the way, if you think INVEST this week is all about money, you're going to be surprised.)
The evidence that we at Cornerstone are looking for is the growth of 3 key relationships (WE C 3 KEYS): Committed - Care - Community. The best way to do that, as Pastor Jennifer said the first week, is to be an active part of a small group. A small group is the single best way to grow all three relationships. I believe it's time for Cornerstone to put our best efforts into growing our small group system. It's here that we can Connect - Serve - Invest the best.
Small groups come in all kinds of shapes: some meet during the week, some meet on Sunday mornings, some meet every week while some meet twice a month; a ministry team is a small group organized around a particular ministry - in other words there's no need (unless you want to) to be part of both a ministry team and another small group. Some small groups meet year round, others take the summer off (like mine does), while others meet for the length of a curriculum (like Crown Financial, Membership, or any particular theme study).
This is where INVEST comes into play. Throughout the Bible God challenges us to invest our lives in good things, Godly things, the right things: "Be prepared in season and out of season" - "Meditate day and night on the Word" - "present yourself to God as one approved."
Investing means putting our energies and efforts into things that will benefit our souls and grow us in godliness (1 Timothy 6).
The 3 Key Relationships are not three separate activities. They are not additional things for someone to do. They are the natural results of living out a relationship with Jesus, transforming all of our relationships.
