Today's interview is with Eric Bryant. Eric serves at Gateway Church in Austin. Eric just released a new project called A Fruitful Life: Becoming Who You Were Created to Be. Today, we talk with Eric about being fruitful, service, and being proactive in pursuing holiness.
1) I think if you surveyed most Christians, they'd tell you that they want to be fruitful or faithful in their Christian lives, but might not know exactly what that looks like.
In the Scriptures the word "fruitful" is used to describe the changes that God produces within us ("the fruit of the Spirit" in Galatians 5:22-23), as well as the changed lives that come as a result of our efforts loving, serving, and reaching others ("a harvest among you" in Romans 1:13). Success in God's kingdom is different than what the world values. At its essence, to be successful in God's kingdom means to be transformed by God and to be used by God to transform others.
To determine if you are making progress, ask yourself:
- Am I more like Christ today than I was a year ago?
- Are others now following Christ and more like him because of my investment in their life this past year?
2) Your subtitle might make some Christians wince a bit: "Becoming Who You Were Created to Be." But you're not offering more prosperity-gospel type, "me-first" Christianity, right?
Not at all! You cannot become who God wants you to be unless you are willing to die to self!
There are two dangerous paths Christians slip into. First, some have a very passive faith—one in which they expect God to do all the work that he is actually calling us to do. We are called to obey, to die, to surrender, to sacrifice. Some slip into thinking that because God is sovereign he will do all the work in our lives to help us grow. If that was the case, then there would be no need for commands in the Bible. These commands are life-giving and require us to take personal responsibility for our own growth.
Second, some act like spiritual growth is fully dependent on their own effort. They slip into working hard on their own without fully depending on God and connecting with him for the gift of faith and the strength to pull off what he is calling them to do.
This project is based on Jesus' parable of the soils. At its core, Jesus' parable points to four commands derived from the four soils that will lead to a fruitful life beyond what we could ever imagine:
- Hear God's voice.
- Don't give up.
- Don't give in.
- Obey God's voice.
3) Seems like the church is really good at urging people to follow Christ, but not so much at helping members identify and live out the specifics of that in their unique callings. How can we do better?
The best way to discover our unique callings is to simply meet the needs right in front of us. As we serve, we grow in maturity.
Over and over in his letters to the churches he started, Paul wrote about spiritual gifts and the value each person brings as part of the body of Christ.
The best way to discover our unique callings is to simply meet the needs right in front of us. As we serve, we grow in maturity and discover our niche as others either affirm our efforts or point us towards something else.
If we are functioning in a healthy manner, we should be inviting others to serve with us and lovingly pointing out where they are strong and where they need to grow. The Scriptures say that a rebuke from a friend is like a kiss on the lips. Being willing to have honest and sometimes hard conversations to help someone find where they really excel is a real gift to them. At the same time, we need to have open minds and open hearts to hear from others when we are in the wrong place.
As we faithfully serve the needs in front of us and do the things all who follow Christ should be doing, a more specific calling will emerge.
4) How can pastors, church leaders, or counselors equip people to be more fruitful?
First, we need to realize all who follow Christ have unlimited capacity to influence others spiritually. That is the message of Jesus' parable of the soils. Anyone who hears God's voice, refuses to be derailed by trials or give in to temptation can be fruitful—becoming 30, 60, 100 times more fruitful than we could imagine.
Second, we need to create the opportunities for our people to bear fruit. Our people need to serve even more than we need their help! Too often, church leaders and pastors hijack from our people the opportunity to reach people, to baptize people, to disciple people, and so on. We should invite our people to join us on the front lines and then help them succeed there.
5) How do you help believers navigate the paradox between depending fully on the Spirit of God and yet being proactive in pursuing holiness and fruitfulness?
If we are stepping out in faith in a way where we are desperate for God and willing to do the work he calls us to do, we really strike the right balance.
There is an old phrase I once heard: "Work as if it is all up to you, and pray as if it is all up to God." I have always liked that phrase. I know the number one way to grow is taking personal responsibility for our growth. I also know that God can do even greater things than we ever asked or imagined. Unfortunately, in my worst moments my default is to "work as if it is all up to me, and pray only when I am super desperate." Or even I "work as if it is all up to me, and I pray and read the Scriptures only when I have to do so."
I think the key is to truly believe and live in a way that we will not succeed unless God comes through. If we are stepping out in faith in a way where we are desperate for God and willing to do the work he calls us to do, we really strike the right balance.
Daniel Darling is vice-president of communications for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. He is the author of several books, including his latest, Activist Faith.
