Deliberate Discipleship

Rewarding faith requires commitment. Many people underestimate the impact of faith because they have failed to fully engage in it. Center Church exists to help believers develop a more deliberate faith by focusing on three factors: time, relationship, and environment.

Time

“10,000 hours is the magic number of greatness.”
— Malcom Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell made the goal of 10,000 hours of practice popular in his 2009 book, Outliers. While it might be an oversimplification, the basic principle is sound; people who commit to extraordinary practice experience extraordinary results. Unfortunately, very few people approach life with that kind of focus. Instead, we live distracted. The average American gets to 10K hours of social media every 4 years, 10K hours of streaming every 7 years, and 10K hours of gaming every 15 years. Meanwhile, many people never get to 10K hours of spiritual practices. At Center, we are committed to helping people develop a plan for 10K hours of Christian practice.

Relationship

“We are transformed more by who we love than what we believe.”
— Jim Wilder

People who study the brain seem continually impressed by how much we are shaped by others. Jim Wilder is one of them. In this quote, he is not taking a shot at beliefs; he is not diminishing their importance, but he is emphasizing the power of relationships. The power of relationships is echoed both positively and negatively in the Bible in Proverbs 27:17, which encourages us that “iron sharpens iron,” and in 1 Corinthians 15:33, which says “bad company corrupts good character.” For good or bad, the people we get close to shape us, and for those who want to grow in their faith, relationships with others are paramount. At Center, we make space for authentic community that nurtures deeper faith. 

Environment

“Discipleship cannot be made easy, but in the right environments, it can become quite natural.”
— Miguel Guerreiro

The spaces we live in have a profound impact on how we develop and grow, which is why it is wise to be deliberate about the spaces where we live and worship. Making sure we have space for prayer and reading, worship and community. Without helpful environments, most people struggle to maintain motivation for Christian practice. At Center, we create space for experiencing God’s presence, for practicing our faith, and for connecting to our community.