…for the rest of us

He’s your family member that shows up to the family reunion or big family function once every 5 or 10 years, doesn’t bring any food for the pot luck but sure eats all the shrimp and great food before anyone else can get to the good stuff.  Then he disappears until the next reunion.  No one hears from him.  He doesn’t call or send anyone cards for Christmas or Birthdays.

Church is not a building, institution or organization.  It is a family.

It’s not like a family, it IS a family.

And like any family, you should want to be a part of BUILDING a great family!  Not just being awkward uncle Richard who just attends the large gatherings to feed off the generosity of others.

If you are a follower of Jesus, you are a part of a lasting, real family of God.

You don’t “go to” church.  You get together with the family on Sundays and then with a few of them during the week in a smaller group.

You don’t say stuff like “when will YOU GUYS do ____.” You say “how can I serve our family?”

If you are a follower of Jesus, your local church isn’t a place you go TO and comment ON.  Your local church is a family you do life WITH.

The Bible has no evidence or concept of a follower of Jesus that is NOT connected to a local church.  God says, “quit church shopping and commit!  That’s what I’ve designed you for and you will never experience all the life and purpose and support and foundation I have for you if you continue being awkward uncle Richard.”

That’s a paraphrase of course.

God wants us to understand that a follower of Jesus that is not connected to a church family is an orphan.

You were never made to go through life alone.  Jump in!

…can all be a part of worship to God.

Our very first purpose in life - from which all other purposes flow - is to worship God.  From the mundane and ordinary to the significant events and messes - God wants to be a part of it all.

Having a beer with a buddy?  Acknowledge and thank God for great drink, friends and the enjoyment you get our of what He created first.

Singing along to the music on Sundays?  Make sure it’s about offering your surrender to Him, not putting on a show.

Having sex with your spouse?  Enjoy it to the full as God’s design for pleasure.

Have you been blessed with abilities, gifts, time, money and other resources?  Make sure to use what He first gave you for Him!  That’s what you were created for.

But in our decision to make our whole lives an act of worship, we absolutely must realize that it is a RESPONSE to God’s love which He first gave us.  We don’t do these things because “that’s what you’re supposed to do” or because we think we need to earn God’s love.  That’s cold, rules-for-rules-sake religion.

God wants a real relationship.

He knows you can’t do enough to earn His love, that is why He lovingly gave it to you freely through Jesus.  So in return, as a response to His love, He wants you to love him back with all your heart (passion), mind (thoughts, decisions) and strength (your abilities.)

This is real worship.

Continuing the top 5 things I’ve learned so far as a new church planter and pastor:

#3 - Common sense and a “guest” mentality are critical to reaching people.

God gave us a brain to use it.

Sounds like common sense, doesn’t it?  One thing we’ve done that has been a certifiable home run is treating Sunday services as if we’re expecting guests…because we are.  We do this in many ways.

• Programs that tell you exactly what to expect.
• Someone from the stage letting you know you can relax.
• Everyone from first timer to member fills out connection cards.
• From greeters to the stage- speaking normally, you know like people do Monday through Saturday.
• Free food, coffee and resources.
• Dressing how you’re comfy.
• Fun, safe and interactive Kids programming.
• Not embarrassing or singling out visitors (of which we have a lot every week.)
• Cleaning up, making things presentable.

Again, these sound like common sense, or really almost insignificant to the point where someone could say “Really?  Does that REALLY have an impact on someone’s experience?”

Yep.  And I have several surveys and plugged in volunteers, attenders and members to prove it.  Each one of those bullet points have been mentioned more than once in reference to how someone immediately felt comfortable, made them not feel awkward or allowed them to really listen to the day’s message and, *gasp*, ENJOY being at a church service!

What?  You can enjoy being at a church service?  Say it ain’t so!

And what former “churched” people are finding is that a fun and welcoming experience is not mutually exclusive with sound teaching about Jesus.

Now, we’ve done things we’ve gotten rid of because it was dumb and didn’t work - we’re FAR from a perfect church.  But I can say with confidence, if you work so hard to make your house a welcoming place when guests come over, why on Earth would you not want to apply the same common sense at your own church?

Yesterday we kicked off what could be the series that will change your life.

How’s that for hype?

To be honest, hype for hype’s sake annoys me.  Empty hyperbole and exaggeration never end in anything but unfulfilled promises.  So understand when I say that if you commit the next six weeks to learning God’s five purposes for you, it will change your life.

Have you ever asked something to the effect of “Why am I alive?”

God answers that in the Bible by saying “I made you to love you.”

Have you ever asked something like “Does my life matter?”

God would answer it by saying “You matter so much that I intend on keeping you with me forever.  Through Jesus I’ve given a free way to last forever.”

And the big question which we’ll unpack the next five weeks is “What is my purpose in life?”

God would begin to answer that by saying “The only way you’ll understand your purpose in life is by first connecting to Me.”

You were made by God.

You were made for God.

You were designed to carry out His purposes.

Until we understand that life will just be a meaningless cycle of wake up - eat - work - talk - sleep - rinse -repeat.

Until we understand that we were created for God, life won’t make sense.