There are some questions I have been asking myself lately that are very troublesome?  They come unbidden and seem to be designed to move me or coax me into something new or at least out of the comfortable space I currently exist in.  These questions upset me to my core and I don’t really know what or how to answer. 

The thoughts behind my question from Tuesday, for example, are troublesome also.  I am not going to change churches, to my knowledge anytime soon, yet I want to see my church change to some degree.  I want to see us on the frontlines, carrying out the mission, or commission, of our King.  I want to see real fellowship and community in the people that attend.  I want to see an attitude of love that just has to reach out to the community because the confines of our building cannot contain it. 

Now if you think I am knocking my church or the members, you are wrong.  I see love, I feel the worship, I join the praise, and I grow from the food that is presented. There are some good people, some loving people in my church.  There are some ministries that are reaching out and representing the Kingdom in some wonderful ways. 

But these are some of the questions that bother me. They are personal in nature and do not really apply to my church.  The main one is; what am I really accomplishing for the Kingdom?  And following that is; how can I apply what I am teaching and learning every time I go to church?  And finally; how can I really get out there and do something real and life changing in the real world of the lost and unchurched?   

It seems that I am not the only one wondering about what we are doing.  Shannon’s latest blog post touches on this in another way and is worth reading.  And listen to the video he has on the page.  It is worth those five minutes of your life.  And yes, this is just a shameless plug. 

Is this all there is?  Read and write, listen and learn, discuss and debate, attend and receive.  All of these things are satisfying and filling.  But they are not so fulfilling at times.  I am anxious to “do” something.  Maybe I am getting too fat.

Obesity.  Can the body of Christ be overweight?  We do have some great churches and some outstanding preaching and teaching.  I have heard a lot of people say they come or go to church to be fed.  But if all we do is sit and eat and never exercise, we get fat.  The work, the act of actually getting up and doing something for somebody else that Christ loves, is what keeps us lean and strong.  Instead it seems, we may just be getting fat. 

I know that for me personally, it is past time to get some exercise.  That must be what I am feeling.  Almost bloated from lack of movement and too much to eat.  So I think I need to come up with a program, a method to get up and do something.  This whole post is for me and is just something I wanted to say.

But if you have a few extra spiritual pounds you need to get rid of, why don’t you join me and let’s shed them for the advancement of the Kingdom.  What do you think?

Love you all

Tags: Body of Christ, Church, Fellowship, Kingdom, Knowledge, Love, mission, Obesity, Praise, real world, Self, shameless plug

Psa 139:14  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. ESV

I work in construction; cabinet sales, design and installation; and before this year started I was overwhelmed with more work than I could stand, almost.  It was financially rewarding but temporally taxing.  I had no time to do much more than work and go to church.  I had no clue what a blog was. 

Then the work came to almost a screeching halt.  A lot of people in the construction industry are not doing too well right now. Please pray with us and for us.

But that is not what I want to write about.  It is simply that I have quite a bit more time on my hands and this is how I started finding blogs and forums and online communities.  At first it was not that interesting to me.  People writing about politics and sports, their families and pets, and a vast array of other topics, didn’t hold my interest very long.  Then I found a site called Evangelical Outpost and I read quite a bit of its archives.  I was hooked.  Then I found some others like Parchment and Pen and Theologica.  All of these led to more than I could keep up with.  It made me want to write.

You see, I love talking about God.  What Jesus did for me is just so amazingly mind boggling that I can’t shut up.  So, since I spend more time alone than with people, this is an excellent way to keep me from just talking to myself or to God about Himself.  Although, that has been quite rewarding itself.  But God does want us to do the work He has left us to do.  To fight the battles that are before us.  This is just one of the ways I am following His orders.   

But there was a big problem.  I didn’t feel like I could possibly have any impact.  I wanted to have the writing skill that my brother in Christ, Shannon Mimbs, has.  I wanted to reflect the deep insight I detect in the posts of Dan at Cerulean Sanctum.  I didn’t want to make spelling or grammatical errors that would be out there for all the world to see.  (Like that might happen)  But finally, and I truly believe God told me this, I realized that it didn’t matter.  I was not supposed to be any of those others. 

David wrote the passage in the Psalms that I used above, and it applies to us all.  You and I were fearfully and wonderfully made.  We are precious in the eyes of God.  (1Pe 2:4)  Each and every one of us has a role to play, a part to do, a mission to accomplish.  (Eph 4:16)  We all have been given gifts to use in service to one another.  (1Pe 4:10) We are unique, one of a kind, and this is how God made us. 

We appraise and valuate a thing based on a few criteria.  A gem will be worth more if it is rare and or unique.  Gold’s valuation is determined on its scarcity and beauty.  An original piece of art is worth so much more than the best copy.  It has always amazed me that a forgery of art that is so good it may not be detected for years, once it is exposed, becomes worthless.  Copies are not worth a thing.  Even if almost perfect. 

So I don’t need to be you.  And you don’t need to be me.  We are the way we are and with the help of the Holy Spirit, any changes that need to be made will be.  But His mission is not to change me into you, it is to change me into a better me. 

All of my brothers and sisters rejoice in who you are, in who God made you to be.  You are precious to God and He wants to use you.  Use the gifts and abilities He has given to you. 

Don’t waste time trying to be someone else or envying their gifting and wasting yours. 

Love you all

Tags: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, Identity, Praise, Value, Worth, Writing