Now what?
First know that it is not going to be easy. I never said it would be.
It is time to go deeper, be more sacrificial, more missional and more intentional. You are not content just sitting in a pew. You have heard plenty of sermons, attended potlucks up the ying yang and brought friends to the “bring a friend Sunday services.” Now it’s time to get serious.
So what will you do after your exodus? Maybe go and meet the neighbors, you know, those people Jesus told you to love. They may be surprised to see you out in the neighborhood on Sunday morning. Or go to a Starbucks and pray for the people around you or go for a bike ride. I don’t know. I don’t think it really matters as long as you are listening to God and not just going to church for the sake of going to church.
Disclaimer: Can you do all of this above without “leaving the building?” Of course you can. You can be part of an “institutional” church and still be missional, intentional, sacrificial, etc. And you can be part of a house church and be extremely self-centered and unloving.
Just be careful. It’s not about the location, it’s about the heart.
I find that relationships tend to go deeper and have better accountability in small churches. This does not mean it is the only way.
As always, I would love to hear your comments as we plough together in the journey. Press on church.
Your ideas of what to do on Sunday really open my mind to the possibilities. I get stuck thinking that if I start gathering in my house, I have to start with 10 people being there.
I get caught up in the “worship service” of the church and feel I need to stop and worship. I looked up some studies on worship and it is not what I thought. The Samaritan woman had a similar problem I think. Jesus answered her, and me, in John 4:21-24.
By: Sol Michaels on August 26, 2010
at 6:12 AM