Since the annual conference at the end of November, this phrase has become the SCAC president’s “famous quote”, because it appeared in both the main speech and speech for the districts.
Encouragingly, some people use this phrase to exhort other brothers and sisters. But some people are also saying, don’t say this anymore! Otherwise brothers and sisters will not join any activities.
The type of activities referred to in the phrase include those listed below:
1. Activities for others to see: In Matthew chapter 6, when speaking of charitable activities, Jesus taught us that in our activities of giving, prayer, and fasting, we are not to do it for others to see, but for God, so that we will obtain God’s reward. If we do it for others in order to gain their praise, we would only obtain the temporary earthly treasures, instead of the eternal reward and treasures of heaven.
2. Meaningless activities: Sometimes, the church plans activities for the sake of activity, without thinking through reasons for the events. In the end, the activity is meaningless, and the participants also feel it is pointless.
3. Activities without effects: Some activities are carried out impressively with great pomp and circumstance, but after they end, there are no long-lasting effects. They do not help people to continue living the normal Christian life.
4. Activities that cause people to fall: Some activities do not merely help to build friendly relationships, in fact they go beyond that. This is even scarier, because these are activities that cause people to fall.
5. Activities that exhaust people: Some activities are supposed to renew people’s strength, but instead they end up tiring out participants so much so that they are sick in bed for days.
Besides the negative activities listed above that will cause people to die in them, there are many other activities that are, on their own, positive and good activities. But then the activity planners and participants do not use what they learn in their daily lives. All the good things are kept only within the activity itself. For example, the seminary training classes in Methodist Theological School trains students to wake up early every morning to sing hymns, read the Bible, and pray. Students are also trained for weekly fasting and evangelism. But many students do not take away these good things after leaving the school. They do not make it a habit, they do not wake up at dawn for quiet time, and they forget to fast and do evangelism. Isn’t this also dying in activities?
More examples:
1. Evangelism Explosion training is a good training activity, but after graduation, how many continue to evangelize? Why not use it in daily life? Isn’t this dying in activities?
2. Bible-reading and prayer camps are good, but after leaving the campsite, do participants continue a daily life of Bible-reading and prayer? If not, then isn’t the camp causing people to die in activities?
3. Disciple is a good class, but how many of those who go through the training still read through the Bible at least once in a year? If not, then isn’t it dying in the Disciple class activities?
4. Preaching is a pastor’s good activity of service. But if after the sermon, neither the pastor nor the congregation puts it into practice, it is as James said, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (Jam 2:17)
Those who believe in Jesus should not be people who die in activities, rather we are all people alive in Christ. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (1 Cor 5:17)
In this new year of 2018, let us depend on God to live out new lives. And in every upcoming New Year to live in Christ, not die in activities.