Honestly it is about Acts 2:42, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Dr. John Eckhardt, the founder of The Ripple Effect, understood that living a Christian life had to go beyond just church attendance. He saw the need for an opportunity for men and women to get together like the early church, around a meal (breaking bread), encouraging one another, praying for one another, and generally growing in Christ. It really is that simple.
Well, there are a couple of things in it for you. Fundamentally it is an opportunity for growth, becoming the kind of person you have the potential to be. Beyond that, you will have the opportunity to develop relationships with other like-minded men and women, each trying to become the kind of person they have the potential to be. This living, breathing fellowship creates an atmosphere of growth based on the principles of Christ: loving your neighbor as yourself, and loving God with all your being.
Ultimately? As near was we can figure, dinner whenever we meet. There are no collections, or requests for money or time or for commitment. The whole purpose of this is to follow the admonition of Jesus when He commanded us to go into the world and make disciples of all men (Matt 28:19 - “preach” in the King James, but make disciples in all other versions). The idea of what is being said here is to create a desire to learn and grow in those around you. Dr. Eckhardt (see "What is this all About") has really felt that creating opportunities for people to grow is what is his responsibility to do. In fact, he thinks its really everyone’s responsibility to help others to grow, too. Hence the name: The Ripple Effect. So what is the ultimate cost? That you would grow yourself to a place where you are able to help others grow in Christ. That, and dinner.
Absolutely not. This is not an attempt to start a church or ministry or any other organization. In fact, this group should be a support for local churches and ministries by giving members an opportunity to put into practice the principles presented by the local church. If this were to end up as a church, it would mean that we went in the wrong direction from where Christ was leading us. And that’s not to say that we think churches are wrong. Far from it. We believe that churches are necessary and important to the community and to the Body of Christ. It is just that for The Ripple Effect, success is not starting a church, but in helping to build strong men and women in Christ who can be forces for good in the community, the market place, and wherever they are.
Absolutely not. In fact, the opposite is true. If The Ripple Effect is doing it right, it should provide a way for members of various local churches to grow in Christ and so be better members. The goal is to grow the Body of Christ, not compete with local churches.
That is a very reasonable question and, in fact, it is good that you asked it. No. This is not an attempt to convert anyone to anything. In our principles upon which The Ripple Effect is built, we see the purpose of meeting as accepting people as they are, where they are, and helping them to release the potential that is within themselves. There is no magic formula or special doctrine or system of beliefs you need to accept or commit to. There is only the need to want to grow in Christ and be able to emerge as the person you are capable of being. The Ripple Effect is not there to prescribe a particular way to do that. It is there to simply provide a loving and accepting environment in which it can happen.
Another great question. The world in general, and too often religion in particular, are very cynical places. We have all got more than sufficient reasons to distrust motives and question “why” when we are presented with ideas and concepts which appear to be “too good to be true.” And certainly, to you (if you’ve read this far) this certainly looks like it fits that bill. The truth is that what is in it for us (“us” being Dr. John Eckhardt and your “local liaison” - see the About Us page) is simply the fulfillment that comes from doing what we think God has asked us to do: create an environment in which people can grow according to Acts 2:42 (“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”). It’s not complicated. It’s the same as you finding something of value that someone else has lost and returning it with no expectation of anything in return. It’s just the right thing to do, and in doing it, you can feel good about yourself. So is this “Ripple Effect” thing. It’s our attempt to “do the right thing” without any expectation of return other than the gratitude of knowing we’ve done what we could to respond to the admonition of Christ to help others to grow. Yup. That’s what’s in it for us.
The Ripple Effect is blind to denomination, affiliation, or belief structure. If you read "Is this an attempt to start a church", you’ll see that our goal is not to put forth a particular belief or doctrine. Our focus is on helping the individual to grow. We really don’t care what denomination you come from. We just want to help release your potential in Christ so you can grow wherever you are planted.
I suppose you could say that all we ask is that you have made a “decision for Christ” or whatever terminology your religious affiliation uses for a commitment to be a “believer” or “follower” of Christ. But we are not going to ask you that, or require you to sign something to be a part of our meetings. Shoot, we even welcome non-believers, although we think it is impossible for such a person to continue either as a part of The Ripple Effect or as a non-believer for very long. Christian growth requires some basic commitment to Christ although we are not going to push that. And we also feel strongly it is not our job to “weed out” others.
I think everyone is afraid in this day and age that we are going to get “sucked in” to something that we will regret and find difficult to get off the mailing/phone list. Honestly, we hate that, too. The Ripple Effect is an “open door” type of ministry. That means you can walk out as easily as you walked in. Because we are not asking for a commitment of any kind, we do not have any expectations that anyone who shows up at one meeting will necessarily show up at the next. And if you were to show up at one meeting, then miss several, and come back again, you’d be just as welcome back as you were at the first meeting. We mean that.
Testimonial