Things have been pretty hectic in my life lately. Between going to school full-time, two kids, working out, and watching lost, I have had very little time to hang out with my wife. In order to facilitate interaction with my wife, I decided to break out the ol’ planner and schedule my life out. If you don’t schedule your life, someone else will. So, I decided to schedule specific time for just my wife and I. I am more excited about this than words can express. However, because of my busy schedule, the only time that we are able to get together is Sunday morning between 11a.m. and 2p.m. Sounds crazy, but it should work.
I have some very incredible things planned for this time. For starters I am going to hire a very talented friend of mine. He has a tremendous voice and just happens to be an very accomplished gutairist. I have hired him with the specific task of writing songs about my wife and than singing them to her. It should be awesome! Eat your heart out men, feel free to steal this idea. It should keep me off of the couch for days!
A sure fire way to add days to the couch counter is another incredible idea. I will personally give a speech about her. I will wax eloquent for 35-45 minutes about how awesome she is. I will tell her everything that is beautiful about her and how she has changed my life. If I play my cards right, I will be winning more tables than Jesus Jones in a full tilt tournament! I am so excited about our time together. Of course at 2p.m. I am going to have to end the time with my wife and begin to prepare for the week ahead. I will see her next week from 11a.m. till 2p.m. I won’t be able to interact with her throughout the week, but I will be very faithful to my time with her on Sunday morning!
If I were even close to serious about the above idea, I would be out faster than Kevin Durant from Texas University. My wife would kick my pathetic but to da curb!
Think about it, is that not how the American church treats God. We gather on Sunday mornings from 11a.m. – 2p.m. We listen to some great musicians sing songs about God. We may participate, we may not. It depends on the singer, the style of music, how loud it is, if we feel like it, or if we decide to actually show up to the serivce on time or conveniently arrive at the end of worship. The goal with worship was that we feel good about the worship experience. Than we will listen to a skilled communicator paint a beautiful picture about the person of Jesus Christ and how, if we will make Him Lord of our life, we will be able to experience incredible things. The communicator will end his message, and depending on your denominationthe ending will look very different. If you are a Baptist you will be reminded that pre-marital sex is wrong because it may lead to dancing. If you are AG, you automatically now that the ending of the communicator’s message is actually the beginning because it ain’t over till someone leaves with tongues of fire! When the service wraps up, you will go to Cracker Barrel with some acquaintances, complain about the food, the service, and leave someone a $20 dollar tip, I mean a $20 track. Wrap up lunch, and make plans to do it again next weekend with no intention of seeing God throughout the week. That may be a little harsh, but unfortunately I think this is how it works in the lives of those attending the American church.
The Bible speaks of having a form of godliness but lacking power. Because of our schedules, commitments, and relationships we do not have, or take, the time that we need to grow our relationship with God. Please know that I am not bashing the church, or even beign critical. I am not saying that a service is wrong or ineffective. I am saying that somehow there is a disconnect between going to church and being Christ Followers. Where does that come form and why? What can we do to change that? How do we mobilize those that are in the pews to BE the church and not just Go to church? Acts 1:8 says that the Holy Spirit will give us power to BE a witness. When we are being, power is released. We need to have a greater understanding that Christ Following has very little to do with Sunday from 11a.m-2p.m. It has everthing to do with Sunday from 2:01p.m until the following Sunday at 10:59. If we can avoid the vacumm of the mundane, we can begin to experience the abundant life that God has to offer.
5 responses so far ↓
bryan // April 12, 2007 at 4:44 pm
well then…i’ve been whacked across the face by buddy watts. that was well-put bro. lots to think about. it just shows how much our “relationship” with jesus is really just “religion”, despite the lip service that we give about it being the other way around.
what if we canceleld church for a month? what would people do then? it would be akin to cancelling date night with the wife. would the relationship die? of course not. you could still spend time together, have intimate moments together, do life together, but it would be nice to have those date nights. i fear that for many of us if church was cancelled for a month our relationship would be too.
the other part is examining what we do during that 3-hour “date” at church. getting together with other christ followers is important, for sure, but are we best utilizing our time together?
good thoughts sir watts…
buddywatts // April 12, 2007 at 5:52 pm
Searching for the answers to the question: “Are we best utilizing our time together?” is where I am at. Maybe we are using it the best way possible, I dunno. I definitely want to be a part of a church that is looking at every angle and willing to do things out of the box. I guess it begs the question, Is it a format problem, or a content problem? Or is it a combination of both?
I think that for the most part, churches are teaching the Words of God and what it means to be a Christ-follower. What causes the daily disconnect?
Nate // April 13, 2007 at 4:30 am
Well for example, the early Christ followers sold everything they had and all moved in together. They were a community. They were in each others lives every second of everyday. I believe a lot of the disconnect has to do with not being in peoples lives consistently. Not being a family. The whole thing is based on relationships. We’re all brothers, and sisters etc.. it’s when we’re not living as a family through the week, people tend to seek for that family relationship immediately on Sunday and lose focus on God. I know personally that when I lack a relationship with a fellow Christ follower through the week my relationship with Jesus tends to suffer as well. I’m not talking about missing a Sunday service, I mean through the week if I’m not connecting with one. I dunno just my two cents.
buddywatts // April 13, 2007 at 5:49 pm
I think that was more like 100 cents. It’s great stuff. I think you have definitely hit the nail on the head. So, how do we flesh that out?
daniel // April 22, 2007 at 1:22 am
I agree with nate. My singles pastor, Pastor Earl McClellan used to tell me “show me your friends and i’ll show you your future.”
Fellowship with fellow believers and those who encourage you is VITAL. “Iron sharpens iron” as the Scriptures say, you know? I personally suffer when I am not with G-dly people. Allowing people into my life who also follow G-d provides with me guidance I need to make the right choices.
CFNI can be hard for a lot of people because, yeah, you’re in an institution with a lot of parameters and rules, but one can disconnect and not embrace the whole process because they lack healthy fellowship with others.
I know personally that there was an issue I was dealing with recently that Sarah Maher spoke a lot of wisdom to. It was with her guidance and help that a wheel was set into motion which eventually led to me addressing the issue with myself.
It kind of sucks because every “good Christian” wants to think that they have what it takes to recognize and retaliate against the sin in their lives, but sometimes we simply are too stubborn, blind, selfish, or insensitive to the Spirit to recognize it [sin] within ourselves and address it accordingly. It’s humility, however, that allows others to be in our lives and impart things into it.
I’m learning this myself and it’s been extremely rewarding. CFNI, for me, has been one big fat lesson in fellowship. I wish I had more time to spend with you, Monsiuer Watts, for guidance, mentoring, and just plain ‘ol hangout time.