A Blog by Josh Agerton

Chick-Fil-A, Two Guys, and a Bible

Posted on 10. Jul, 2008 by Josh Agerton in Formation

I went to Chick-Fil-A early this morning to meet one of my good friends, Jay Walters. When I walked in the door I saw Jay talking talking to a few guys over in a booth. I went over to say hello and noticed that one had his Bible out on the table. Jay later told me that those two guys get together there every week just to talk through life and study Scripture together.

It was so encouraging to see these two guys together. I watched as they listened to one another, asked questions and grappled with stuff. But what I loved the most was that these two were doing this out of their own initiative. No church program had organized their meeting or put them together. There was no prescribed curriculum or lesson plan. It was something that naturally happened out of their friendship and heart to follow Jesus.

REVEAL

Seeing this made me think of something I read this week. I’ve been taking a close look at one of Willow Creek’s latest resources, REVEAL (also check out the REVEAL blog). It outlines the results compiled from a survey done at Willow Creek, the big mega-Church that has led the way for so many other “seeker” oriented churches. One key discovery they found was that although they provided the latest and greatest in church programming, people were not experiencing real spiritual growth, which they defined as “an increasing love for God and for other people” (based on Matthew 22:37-37). Here’s a few quotes…

We discovered that higher levels of church activity did not predict increasing love for God or increasing love for other people. Now don’t misread this! This does not mean that people highly involved in church activities don’t love God. It simply means that they did not express a greater love for God than people who were less involved in church activities. In other words, an increasing level of activities did not predict an increasing love for God.” (35)

Another quote that was very interesting to me came from Bill Hybels…

It’s (this book) causing me to ask new questions. It is causing me to see clearly that the church and its myriad of programs have taken on too much of the responsibility for people’s spiritual growth.

Enter in Chick Fil A, Two Guys and a Bible

So I’m encouraged to see these guys at Chick Fil A because they are taking some ownership in their own spiritual growth. They are not just showing up at the trough to be fed on Sunday mornings but are actively pursuing Jesus with all of their lives. I’m completely convinced that we will only grow into the fullness of what God desires when we simply sit before his Word each day and let it orient our entire lives. (By the way…preaching a bit to myself here).

In case you don’t already know the chicken biscuit is absolutely killer with a packet of grape jelly on it.