The Avenue

Recently I was re-reading the book ITby Craig Groeschel. (Not the Stephen King It)  I highly recommend it for anyone who hasn’t read it. In this book Craig mentions something that really struck me as profound.  In the book Craig discusses the concept of Buy-In. I thought it was highly relevant to what we’re doing at The Avenue and wanted to share what he said. So with full credit to Craig, here are the three levels.

Level 1-This is where someone buys into an idea enough to benefit from it. For example someone goes to a restaurant because they really like the food. Or someone goes to a particular grocery store because it’s on the way home from work. The key word here is consumption. At this level people are most concerned about themselves and “what’s in it for me.”As soon as something better or easier comes along, these people go with it.  In churches this level of buy in indicates the people who show up because of what they get out of the experience and what it does for them. This is where must people start out at a church.

Level 2-This is where people have bought in enough to contribute comfortably. For example this level of Buy-In occurs when someone gives of their time or resources as long as it doesn’t interfere with anything else. Think of dropping your change into the bucket next to the Santa with the bell outside Wal-Mart.   The key word here is convenience. In church world this is the person who is moving slightly beyond being a consumer and contributes in some way as long as it isn’t hard and doesn’t require a lot. Unfortunately, I believe this is where most people stay for the majority of their lives as a Christ follower.

Level 3- These are the people who believe in something enough to give their lives to it. These people recognize that their lives fully belong to Jesus and arrange their world accordingly. These people reorganize their time, resources, and priorities and what they feel God is calling them too. A key word here would be sacrifice. These people sacrifice their convenience and desires for the good of something else. Far and away these are the people that bring change to the world. This isn’t limited to “famous” Christians. These are the men and women who simply live for something greater than themselves.

If we want to see gospel change brought to Old Louisville and the University, then we have to become and raise up people who have level 3 Buy-In.

Tonight during a group study we were discussing what it means to be a disciple. We made a list of all of the things that went in to being a disciple and the one thing that struck me was that almost everything on the list was action oriented. A disciple of Jesus is primarily known for what they do. But it seems in America we primarily try to make disciple by what we learn.

Now they two are related, but we make a mistake when we think that learning more leads to different action. For example, has any group in the world been better educated about what healthy living looks like than Americans? Yet no one would argue that Americans are the healthiest group of people. All of the knowledge hasn’t translated into action or change. The same is true with following Christ. No group of people in the world have more tools, resources, and ways to access spiritual growth information. But discipleship is declining in America not increasing. Why?

I think it is becuase studying is easier and less riskier than acting. To study just means reading a chapter or two a week and discussing it with some other people. To act means risking looking stupid, being uncomfortable, confessing and admitting failures. On the good days it’s messy. On the bad days it’s soul wrenching. So we avoid it and bounce from new study to new study. We go from the 5 keys of this to the 6 habits of that. We gain all kinds of knowledge but we remain basically the same.

However, I for one am tired of just gaining knowledge. And that’s what excites me about being here at The Avenue. I am surrounded by other people who also aren’t interested in just talking about becoming more like Jesus. They want to put action behind it. They want to be transformed not just informed. They want to make a difference in other peoples lives. They want to live out scripture not just read it. And as the days and months progress, I believe we’ll begin to look more and more like the church in the New Testament instead of just reading about it. All becuase people are willing to be uncomfortable and do instead of just know.