"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." (John 17:3)

Every year we enter the season, in which we celebrate the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Advent, we are at once both comforted and challenged by this God-man Jesus.

The comfort is found in the fact, that as a man He understands the difficulties of humanity, and can relate to us in very real terms. We are also comforted by the fact, that God was willing to give "His all" for us on the cross. Likewise, Jesus' first coming speaks to us concerning His desire to love us, and be loved by us. He was willing to take on human form, to allow us to comprehend, and relate to Him on a personal level.

This relational emphasis of our faith is a challenge as well as a comfort. If our relationship with God was a working relationship, we could live however we so desired, and volunteer our time on Sundays; but Christianity is not a working relationship. It is a personal relationship. Therefore, we are challenged by the fact that God is involved in our personal lives.

Modeling of relational Christianity is one of the marks of radical Church life. If somehow we relate to the world that the church is about music, helpful and encouraging sermons, potlucks, offering plates, or Sunday School classes; then we have missed communicating the most vital element of life in Christ. The fact that we can "meet our Maker" here on earth, and come to know Him intimately, is the heart and soul of true religion.

If we build a church of people who know about God, but do not know Him, and are not being changed by their relationship with Him, then we are not building the Church at all. We may be increasing the attendance of an earthly corporate structure, but we are not adding to the true Church. Real church growth increases God's kingdom.

When a person comes to know God, this begins personal relationship with the Lord, which must be continued throughout life. The church must model this daily walk with Christ also. Too often, we seem to communicate by our actions, that for the believer, Christianity is ushering, teaching Sunday School classes, singing in the choir, and regular attendance. All of these things are good, but they are all work related. If they become the primary emphasis of our activity in God, then personal relationship begins to take a back seat.

Christmas is just one example, of a season in which we remind one another that this Christian life is all about relationship. This is why Jesus came. This is why Jesus died.

It is a busy season. This busyness (or, business) tends to strain relationships. The busyness of the church tends to place unwanted stress upon its members also.

The small church has the ability to help transform the holyday seasons into very personal seasons. We can practice personal relationship, when we gather together, and become the model of true Christianity.

We can do more than talk about our God, Who came in the flesh to relate to lost mankind. We can actually share His love with people through relationship. Just as the strength of Christianity is our relationship with God, the strength of the small church is relationship. It is time we used this strength to its fullest advantage, by reaching out in relationships, which model the love of God for mankind.

Develop a model of church life, which doesn't allow visitors sit alone through church services. Encourage, and model personal interaction with those new faces (i.e. praying for their needs, talking with them about something they enjoy, maybe even asking them out to lunch.) Teach others not to let the week pass without expressing their concern, and love to others in the church - a phone call, a note, a time to get together; these are the things that make for caring community. These are the kind of actions of which it is said, "By this will all men know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35)

People are looking for the restoration of the old-fashioned family holidays. Of course, the operative word is "family."

They are also looking for reality. They want to get beyond the masks of everyday corporate existence. Now is the time, for the Church to reach out, with the unmasked reality of those personal relationships, which are found in the family of God. By doing so, we just might experience real growth.