Lance’s story explores what it means to live as the Church beyond Sunday. Through honest questions about community, discipleship, and purpose, he reminds us that faith is not confined to a service—it’s a way of life shaped by transformation and love.
Grace in the Second Half: God’s Power to Redeem and Renew
Lance began with a question that many thoughtful believers ask: If God is everywhere, why attend church on Sunday? It’s a fair question—one that challenges us to consider what gathering truly means. The answer, as Lance and others have discovered, goes beyond obligation. We gather because something sacred happens when people come together to seek God.
In solitude, we may know God personally, but in community, we experience Him collectively—through the shared encouragement, prayer, and presence of others. Church is not about performance or routine; it’s about practicing a life that reaches beyond ourselves. When we gather, we remember that we are part of something larger—a body of people learning to live as one. It’s a weekly rhythm of reorienting our hearts away from self-centeredness and toward the kind of love that unites heaven and earth.
From this starting point, Lance asked an even deeper question: What’s the difference between being a good person and being a disciple of Jesus? It’s a question at the heart of spiritual formation—and one that lies at the center of why Formation Church exists. Being a disciple isn’t about merely believing in God or behaving morally. It’s about transformation from the inside out.
A disciple is someone who denies self, surrenders fully, and follows daily. While the world measures goodness by actions, Jesus looks at the condition of the heart. The disciple’s life becomes shaped by grace, intimacy, and obedience—not out of duty, but out of love. Through that transformation, our lives begin to naturally reflect the character of Christ.
Finally, Lance shared a thought that captures the essence of the Church’s calling in today’s world: Be the Church to people. In a time when many see little value in organized religion, his insight is both simple and profound. Church doesn’t end when the service does—it extends into every moment of our lives.
Being the Church means showing up for others with compassion, humility, and authenticity. It means living the same way on Monday as we do on Sunday—anchored in integrity and guided by the Spirit. The world doesn’t need more convincing arguments; it needs more living examples of love, consistency, and hope.
Lance’s reflections remind us that the Church isn’t a building—it’s a people. And the question is not just whether we attend, but whether we embody what we profess. When others see Christ in our everyday lives, they encounter something real, something eternal. And that’s where transformation—both personal and communal—truly begins.