Comments for RiverWalk Church of Christ

Comment on Is Anything Too Hard For God? by Jay Plank

Jay Plank — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:22:55 +0000

Agreed, Rick. And we may not ever see the working of God on an issue in this life. I was reminded of Israel being in Egypt for 400 years before being brought out by Moses. I have to think that there were many descendants of Abraham who spent their entire lives in slavery with only the promise of redemption, but never the realization.

Comment on THE PRESENT FUTURE–THE RETURN TO SPIRITUAL FORMATION by Scott Waltman

Scott Waltman — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:43:17 +0000

In class Wednesday night, I pointed us to two scriptures:Philippians 3:10 and John 5:39-40. I worry that in my teaching experience I’ve fallen into the same trap that Jesus accused the Pharisees of; putting more importance on learning “the Scriptures” than on “knowing Jesus.” If such scriptures as Matthew 10:25, Galatians 4:9, and Romans 8:29 are true (and I believe them to be true) then goal of spiritual formation (Christian maturity, growth in Christ, etc.) is that what we do should be pointed towards helping us look more like Jesus every day. How can we spent our time more profitably to that end? We spend so much time trying to get people to “know the Scriptures” when God wants us to “know” His Son. After all, it is through Jesus that we have life (John 1:4, 3:15, 3:36, 6:35, 10:10, etc.) How can we do this?

Comment on THE PRESENT FUTURE–THE RETURN TO SPIRITUAL FORMATION by GrPa_K

GrPa_K — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:44:27 +0000

I have more time to think and reflect now. I have attended the Church of Christ all my life, but never attended classes in my youth. When I did start attending regularly (thanks to meeting the woman who eventually became my wife and her continued encouragement), I learned a whole bunch of stuff. Most of it was good. However, in class I often felt intimidated by so many of the “charter-club” members and their in-depth knowledge of everything “churchy” and “rightly dividing”. Frankly, I never did get comfortable in a church bible class even though I taught on several occasions. But a lot of this is my own personality and I do not think it is necessarily the fault of anyone other than me nor the fault of our process. We just need to be aware of it – and I think I am more sensitive than I used to be regarding putting new Christians in situations they are not accustomed and really has little to do with spiritual growth. We do need to be challenging them, as well as challenging ourselves, with the kinds of questions Reggie is suggesting.

Last Fall (2009)I was asked to provide an “Instructor Testimony” for a faith-based home school teaching assignment I voluteered to do. I completed it and will forward it to you separately. After doing it I felt it was time very well spent. As I told the director at the time I submitted it: “I am somewhat embarrassed to say this, but I had never done one before so it was a meaningful experience.”

Comment on Sunday Reflections by Kady

Kady — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:35:06 +0000

Congrats!!! I’ve been to many churches over the last couple of years and I’m always amazed at the honesty and sincerity of your congregation. Whatever your “next step (s)” are I’ll continue to pray with and for everyone at Riverwalk.

Comment on The Present Future by Scott Waltman

Scott Waltman — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:01:34 +0000

Thanks for your comments and interest J. I think as you near the end of the book some of your concerns will be “lightened” a bit. I think Reggie comes on a little “strong” because he wants to get our attention. Having met him I can assure you there is no vendetta, he just wants to get his point across. Sometimes we can be awfully dense and at other times stubborn. I’ve found personally that when I focus on the things that I myself can change for the better I’m in a much better frame of mind. Can you believe that some folks even misunderstand me at times and think I get “a tad” negative? By the way, I agree with much too much in this book too. At heart I think I’m a follower of Jesus, but in reality I’m far too much of a “club member.”

Comment on Sunday Reflections by Rick Cline

Rick Cline — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:57:14 +0000

GrPa_K, thanks for sharing your thoughts. No question as to the power of prayer…this campaign is exhibit “A” of that truth. Prayer helped open the hearts of many of us individually, and collectively we have been reminded again as to what happens when a community of faith prays together for God’s direction. I appreciate all those who, like yourself, “prayed through” their initial reluctance, concerns, and objections in order to listen for God’s voice. We have some exciting opportunities in front of us at RiverWalk!

Comment on Sunday Reflections by GrPa_K

GrPa_K — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:05:33 +0000

Again – Praise the Lord! Prayer continues to work, even for GrPa_K. I have some confessions to make. 1) I do not like to be told how to pray. I overcame this and prayed anyway and I know it helped in my decision to want to be a part of this opportunity. So Buffy, I thank you for encouraging me with your thoughts and expressions. 2) Robert and Bob, I thank you for making yourselves available to get input from all of us, and your patience and kindness shown me as I questioned the process early on. 3) For whatever reasons, what I thought I was hearing (as bad as it is – but I will not blame my ears) led me to think early on that this was yet another Building (bricks and mortar) Project and that turned me off real fast. Rick, I thank you for pressing on by continually telling us for the last several months that this was not a “bricks and mortar” emphasis. Your words and continued prayers by all eventually nudged me. I am joyful about this.

Comment on The Present Future by GrPa_K

GrPa_K — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:32:31 +0000

Scott, thank you for ordering the book. For the most part I find myself agreeing with the author in so many ways and I can relate to many of his observations regarding “club membership” and how we go about ministry. And his description of the mode of operation for the most part fits and I would be a fool to ignore his challenges and the questions he is putting forth. One organization that comes to my mind as I read his description of how the kingdom should function is the Salvation Army. I think we could easily partner with them and accomplish much outside our walls. In my opinion the Army goes a long way in doing ministry and in the name of Christ, but do they place much emphasis on what I call “Saving the Lost”? Will the latter automatically happen because of the former? I do not know. I would have to do more analysis to answer that.

One concern I have as I read the book: He is very quick to call out in very negative fashion, in my opinion, some ministries and terms that congregations (our “clubs”, and apparently his too) have used to promote furthering the gospel (Christ and Him crucified) and development of Christians (followers of Jesus). I get the impression that he is frustrated and he comes across as a bit egotistical and with lack of patience (and possibly love) for his fellow church (“club”) members. A resemblance of a vendetta. This bothers me – we are still brothers and sisters in Christ!

Comment on Sunday Reflections by Rick Cline

Rick Cline — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:04:01 +0000

The ride of our lives indeed! We must guard against closing our minds (imagination) to what God wants to do through RiverWalk Church of Christ.

Comment on Sunday Reflections by Jay Plank

Jay Plank — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:35:09 +0000

And we still don’t know where God is leading us, Rick. We may think we have some of an idea, but if we really believe that God is able to do immeasurably more, we also believe that we haven’t a clue where this is going, and we just “hang on” for the ride of our collective lives!