Some time ago , I was having lunch with Pastor Stan, the head pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church.   And in the course of our conversation, I asked him a big question just for fun.  I asked, “What is the greatest need in the congregation?”  And as he was answering the question, he used a phrase that was quite stimulating, “congregation sanctification.”  His answer was focused on the issue of how a congregation is sanctified.  Simply put, he was deeply concerned about how a congregation grows together in Christ. 

I find his answer to be deeply insightful in at least two ways.  First, I am reminded that his answer reflects a very real situation in churches today.  That no matter what size the church is, the challenge is still same.  In fact, no matter how successful a ministry may be, the task before it is still the same:  it is the task of growing in Christ together as a local body of believers. 

And second, I am reminded that there are many believers who don’t think about sanctification in this way.  For their faith is usually configured as a private pursuit.  That it’s about a personal relationship with God and any spiritual endeavor after that is either secondary or not thought of at all.  That growing in Christ is a matter between you and God…and maybe the pastor (or his sermon!).  But to think of sanctification as a corporate endeavor is a completely different perspective for most people. It teaches us that our personal spiritual growth is vitally connected to others in the local body.  In fact, this is part of God’s basic design for how we are to grow. 

We live in a generation where spiritual growth can come to us in a number of private ways such as radio sermons and books.  There are many who may owe their entire spiritual progress to such things.  Without abandoning such things, we must realize that God has a bigger plan. 

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