a glimpse towards Sunday 10.31.14
On Tuesdays I get away from the office to read and think. I become immersed in reading and thinking attached to the upcoming Sunday message. I like to find hideaways close to coffee. A holy Tuesday morning would be lacking without a cup of holy brew.
This past week I landed at the mall. Did you know you can get into the mall very early before any of the stores open and people invade. It’s quiet and peaceful. There are little living rooms set up throughout the mall. They have very comfortable chairs. AND… at 7 a.m., Starbucks is the only thing open. All my requirements were met, and so I dug in.
Everything was working well until a lone woman began working on the center mall display. Mind you, it was October 27th, and most stores touted some flavor of Fall or Halloween. What was the center mall display? Santa Claus Land. It was getting final preparations for it’s opening THIS WEEKEND! Whaaaaa?
Shouldn’t we protest or picket or something? Hasn’t the pervasive clamp of retail ridiculousness choked us enough? My soul began sighing out loud. Good thing nobody else was in my mall living room.
Instead we just go with the flow. It’s just how it is. One holiday sporting witches flows right into another with demons of spending. Our November pause of gratitude will get compressed into a few hours of turkey and football. The ominous colors of Black Friday, this year, will turn our Thanksgiving Thursday into obvious shades of gray. It’s just what we do. It’s the way things are. It’s what we’ve become.
I wonder if relegating ourselves to lesser standards pervades our ideas of church too. Is it possible a minimal commitment to a local gathering is just what we do… what we’ve become? With so many churches offering so many options, has our approach to the Bride become analogous to a cheap buffet? Does this produce selfish consumers who rent their faith and church? What would an owner look like?
On Sunday, we finish out our 5-week “Life-Giving Living” series from I Peter 2:9-12.
So many have stepped up to each week’s challenges. This week we’ll study through Biblical considerations of church membership. CCC has steered clear of this until now. Is membership important… Biblical? Or, do we just go with the flow? It is what it is. Minimal church commitments are just the way things are. So many would agree with the sentiment claiming, “I love Jesus, just not the church.” What about you?
I’m excited to gather and teach. God is moving and teaching us all. You in? You interested in ownership? Would you bring a skeptical friend who’s done with church (… maybe like you)? Without a fight, the lines between mall living and life-giving living get blurred. Let’s take a decided stand.
See you on Sunday.
Blessings,
AND P.S. — Don’t forget our Family F.I.A. TOMORROW. Watch this video to learn more!!!!!! (You can sign up by clicking HERE.)
Weekly Giving | 10/26/14
$22,650.33
Weekly Need
$29,000.00
