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