Skipping Church

This past Sunday I went with a gathering of friends to place in our city, McKinney, and did some remodeling.  It was my favorite part of the remodeling process, demolition.  It is also the part that I am the best at...which isn't saying very much but I digress.  I was in my car driving to the work site when I couldn't help but notice the churches that I was passing as I sped by.  People were moving in and out of the buildings.  Some were sparsely attended and others seemed bustling with activity.  Regardless of what their attendance was that day, they were all similar in the sense that people were coming together at their regularly scheduled time to go to their regularly scheduled Sunday morning church services with most of the same elements that it did the week before.  It was routine.  That isn't a bad thing, in a world of inconsistency it is good to have things like schedules and programs.  I am not anti routine by any stretch of the imagination.  As a matter of fact, I love my routines, I'm comfortable with my routines, my routines make me feel safe.  Maybe that is why it is really healthy and maybe even spiritual to disrupt your routines.

I think when our spirituality becomes routine, it turns into religion.  It turns into a cold, stale and predictable path.  I think we all get lulled into an unconscious faith when we fail to realize this.  We don't venture too far outside of what we expect and we avoid things that are new or outside of what we deem "normal".  This past Sunday I remembered that God cannot be contained within a building or even a program.  He is among and is present among friends that are volunteering their time and efforts to show love to people they don't even know.  The Holy Spirit is there in the "incidental" conversation that you have with someone you just met and yet they are opening up about their painful past and uncertain future.  Jesus is there when you are hammering a nail and tearing up drywall while the neighbors in nearby homes notice your efforts and smile when you walk by (Psalm 139:7-9).

I'm not going all pantheistic on you, I realize the importance of preaching God's Word and singing worship songs together.  My soul is touched when I hear a great sermon, moved when I am challenged by Scripture and my eyes have teared up while singing words of a praise and worship song.  But worship can, and does, happen while you are hammering a nail and sawing a piece of wood.  He is there when we gather in His name, His precious name, and devote ourselves to Him and love each other accordingly (Matthew 18:20).

My encouragement to you is, break your routine once in a while.  Skip church.  You heard me.  Skip church.  Not to watch a game, not to sleep in but to do something else that is devoted to Him.  Maybe it is a service project or feeding the homeless.  Maybe it is to study your Bible in a coffee shop uninterrupted.  Whatever it is, do it because you love Him and want to know Him better.  Peel off that thick layer of religion that has coated your heart for too long and make your walk with Him a dynamic one. 

I'll be honest with you, I almost skipped the service project I'm talking about this week.  I had a pretty rough week as well as a busy one.  I was feeling like I didn't want to be around people very much and like I needed the rest.  At some point God spoke to me, not audibly, and I felt very strongly that instead of skipping it, it was the remedy for my troubled soul this week. I was right.  God rewarded that time by giving me the opportunity to connect with people I had not previously and by getting outside of myself to focus on others.   I remembered that Jesus served others despite the intense persecution He was under.  Despite the fact that He was on a mission to save us.  He had all kinds of excuses for not serving others but He served instead of demanding that we serve Him.  The King.  Thank you Jesus for the opportunity to serve You (Matthew 20:28)!

Matt

I Alone Am Left

Ever had to face a bully? My guess is that all of us at one time or another have been in that position whether we want to admit it or not. Maybe it was at school as a kid. Perhaps the bully was a member of your family or it is not unheard of for the bully to be your boss or a coworker. Whatever the case may be, my story will probably sound in someway familiar to you. It would not surprising to hear that as a kid, I was bullied semi frequently. It would be even more apparent if you checked out a picture of me growing up. The bifocals, toothpick arms and pasty white skin would definitely seal the deal for you. I can remember one specific event when I was walking home from school when I was in middle school.

I was in sixth grade and my family had just moved from Plano, Tx. to Humble, Tx. In my opinion, at least at the time, it was not good timing. I had no friends and as previously stated, I was not going to win any medals any time soon for any sports related event. I was easy pickins. I liken it unto the gazelle that has strayed from the herd with the lion lurking behind the brush like you would see on the Discovery Channel.

When it happened, I was in the most vulnerable place I could possibly be in junior high. You guessed it...P.E. My affectionate term for the class was "Juvenile Detention" for obvious reasons. It was one of the few places where absolute lawlessness reigned and adults seemed to turn a blind eye to bullying chalking it up to "boys will be boys" or "it will toughen him up a bit". But I digress. I was sitting on the bench in the locker room, the most terrifying of places for a middle school boy in my position, when it happened. His name was Paul and it was widely known that he smoked pot and ate sixth grade nerds for breakfast. He seemed to be six feet tall, had a Magnum P.I. mustache and as I remember it, his knuckles scraped the ground.

I was sitting alone on the bench, trying to avoid eye contact and looking straight ahead nervously hoping that today's activity might be something like "pick your own activity day" or "read your favorite comic book" and certainly not "dodge ball" or "wrestling". Paul, smelling blood in the water, walks straight up to me and leans over right in my face and gave me the ultimate insult. I could feel his hot stinky breathe on my face when he uttered the words "YOUR MOM!". Of course he got the usual high fives from his cronies around him and nervous laughter erupted in the locker room. I know that "YOUR MOM" by today's standards is not that bad at all and if I had known that at the time it wouldn't have stung that bad but...it did. Even though I had nerdy friends at the time that were facing the same persecution, in that moment I was alone. I alone had to face that trial. Sure, we would get together after the fact and share how bad the day had been, talk about our common interest and console one another but in that moment I was alone facing that test.

If the truth be told, it was not the last time I had to face a challenge like that in middle school and even to this day, I face challenges where I feel like...I'm alone. Don't get me wrong, I am in community with other believers but there are certain struggles and challenges that even though you have support and encouragement from friends and family, there is a degree in which you face that challenge alone. I was going through my reading plan for my time with God and came across this passage in 1 Kings 18 with Elijah the prophet. He was facing the Prophets of Baal and made this statement:

v22Then Elijah said to the people, "I alone am left a prophet of the LORD, but Baal's prophets are 450 men."

Now, later in the book of 1 Kings, (19:10) Elijah will make the same statement but I think it has a different edge to it here. The latter verse Elijah is basically saying that he is literally the only prophet left to face Jezebel and her prophets was him. This passage I think he is aware that there are other prophets because Obadiah, another prophet, had just finished telling him as much. Later he conveniently forgets this fact in his despair. He exaggerates his condition. However, here I believe the statement he is making is that he alone must face the prophets of Baal and possible annihilation.

There are times in each of our lives where we are faced with an extreme challenge. We can find community and get encouragement, which you absolutely should. You will not be able to stand in the face of this challenge truly alone. But, I do believe the burden of conquering that challenge and the physical act of standing up to it, rests on your shoulders...and on God's. You see God uses those moments to strengthen your faith. St John of the Cross calls those moments "The Dark Night of the Soul'. I love that phrase! It accurately describes the turmoil that you experience during those times. It is not your run of the mill challenge. It is not the typical suffering that you experience in every day life. This challenge is a Goliath sized problem. At first it may send you reeling, grasping for something to pick yourself up by. But before you are able you are hit yet again by the same challenge. It is indeed a crisis!

In those moments, God is your only anchor (Hebrews 6:19). He alone will face the challenge with you if you draw near to Him (James 4:8). It is in those moments that your faith is solidified or broken hopelessly. God will strengthen you and allow you to face that challenge only in Him and not in your own strength. It is a blessing but in the moment, it certainly doesn't feel like it. If that is you right now, let me first encourage you by saying, YOU ARE NOT ALONE! There are other Christ followers right now that stand along side of you who are facing their "Dark Night of the Soul" as well. Find comfort in community. But please do not rely on them primarily, make God your anchor. Here are someways that God provides us to face those moments.

1. Gain Strength from God - Cry out to Him in your pain but also in comfort. Make Him your close friend and ally. Learn more about Him through His Word and in prayer.

2. Gain Strength from Biblical Community - Find a group of Christ followers that is dedicated to yielding their lives to Him and learning more about Him. A group that lives our their faith and reaches out to those that don't know Him. People that serve in the community and love Jesus.

3. Face Your Trial - Don't avoid the confrontation that you are facing. Charge the hill! Run into it knowing that God is with you and get support from your local body of believers. Know that we are all in the same boat and you are not alone. Realize that regardless of how painful what you are experiencing is that God is in you and with you. He will never leave you or forsake you even if you feel forsaken. God is faithful because that is who He is.