Wired: Brain Science & Spiritual Growth | Part 4 | Group Identity | Chris Voigt

Group Identity: What Kind Of People Are We?

Wired: Brain Science & Spiritual Growth
October 2, 2022

If you’ve ever driven Interstate 5 on an autumn Saturday in the Willamette Valley, you know that the freeways are often filled with vehicles decked out in the colors of the Oregon State Beavers or the Mighty Oregon Ducks.
 
Beaver fans in black and orange, with flags, signs, and pompoms head for Reser Stadium. If you’re a Beaver fan, I commend you. You’re incredibly resilient. Being resilient takes practice, and you’ve had plenty of opportunities to develop yours over the years! And Beaver fans are loyal, which is another admirable trait. Lose or lose, you hang in there, cheering your team on. You know what it means to be a Beaver Believer and you are all in. Way to go. All kidding aside, the Beavs are off to a great start this season and I’m rooting for you...really... at least until November 26.
 
If you’re an Oregon Duck fan, your entire fall wardrobe is green and gold; you might wear black, but only with green, never orange. You don’t even own anything orange! You only wear Nikes, and your favorite workout is doing pushups. You know a ‘quack attack’ isn’t a medical condition, and that it never rains at Autzen Stadium. And you definitely know what this <'O' hand signal> means. And you...are...LOUD! Seriously loud! You know what it means to be Quacker Backers and you are HERE for it! Go Ducks!!
 
I’m Chris Voigt, Lead Pastor at Dayspring Fellowship in Keizer, Oregon. We are in week 4 of our series, Wired: Brain Science and Spiritual Growth. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been looking at how God designed our brains and how that design impacts our spiritual growth. We’ve learned about two essential nutrients that we need for living a transformed life and this week we’ll be looking at a third: group identity. Even in a culture as fiercely independent and individualistic as ours is, we all have a deep desire to belong, to be part of something bigger than ourselves, to identify and affiliate with others. And those with whom we choose to identify, shape who we become in profound and powerful ways.

Whether you’re a Beaver, Duck, Platypus, or even a Huskie... all are welcome at Dayspring. I hope you’ll join us!