I am quite worried about the amount of apathy in our church at the moment, in particular the apathy towards serving- whether in large or small areas.
I'd be bold to say that it's always been there for as long as I've been attending but it does appear to be getting worse.
Church is not perfect as it comprises of imperfect people. But if we are serious about belonging to the community we should be stirred and convicted of helping and serving in what ever ways possible. It's not about prestige or public admiration/recognition but a genuine desire to serve in an area that needs people and the desire to create a better Christian community for all who attend.
We completed a sermon series a month ago on G.R.A.C.E. The main theme was to not only show grace or be gracious to each other, but to further expand on this for the whole church community, each letter represented a sub-topic of its own:
G stands for Genuine
R is for Receptive
A is for Active (this is the one I want to focus on for the purposes of my ramblings)
C is for Community
E is for Encouragement
As Christians we are drawn to church as a means of worshipping God. Worship is not limited to singing or bowing in prayer, but also includes active service and genuine desires to glorify God.
To confess yourself as a Christian and attend church regularly but never participate or rarely participates in the church community is of great concern.
Some questions arise:
- Are we taking our Christian life seriously?
- Do we only want to do things that are fun and popular?
- Do we seek admiration or personal glory from others by only choosing to serve in ways that are up-front to get maximum exposure?
- Are we only serving because our friends are doing it, but our hearts are not really into it?
- Are the areas of need too boring, need too much preparation and personal sacrifice because we have to turn up to church earlier, stay back later or have to take a detour from our usual routine every now and then?
- Would we much rather be spending time outside of the Sunday services doing our own fun things and not preparing for church needs that happen during the week?
18 comments:
So many times we are in need of Christ’s tolerance of us. In efforts to try to be more like Him, I try to extend tolerance to others. For wrong or right I find myself most tolerant of those who have not received Christ into their lives. For wrong or right I find myself most critical towards once a week Christians.
I love my Savior Jesus Christ and I am grateful for his sacrifice in my behalf. Daily striving to be more like Him. Rob
So many times we are in need of Christ’s tolerance of us. In efforts to try to be more like Him, I try to extend tolerance to others. For wrong or right I find myself most tolerant of those who have not received Christ into their lives. For wrong or right I find myself most critical towards once a week Christians.
I love my Savior Jesus Christ and I am grateful for his sacrifice in my behalf. Daily striving to be more like Him. Rob
thanks for commeting Rob :)
It just so happened yesterday's Sunday School lesson was about this very subject: commitment. Sadly, the lack of commitment in society is bleeding into the church: the old Pareto Principle is alive and well.
I was fortunate to be raised in a home where I grew up learning how to serve in the church along side my mother. It gave me a good grounding for serving for which I am thankful.
Christians say God is the center of their life, but the fact that church attendance and service isn't a priority shows ignorance of the Word. Like Rob, I often find myself looking around at people who are faithful to every service (most in our church are), but never get involved. Not even a once a month nursery or a once a month ladies' Bible study.
I'm not sure what the answer is for this.
My family just left a church because of that very reason. We were there 12 years and it sort of morphed into something completely different than what it was when we started there. We are now in a church where there is no shortage on volunteers for just about everything. It has blown my mind really, and it shouldn't I suppose. It's taken me awhile to adjust and take part in such a loving church that reaches out to our community. It's been pretty awesome. Great post:)
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Maybe the change you seek does not start in the church but in yourself. Change starts with you.
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I agree with you completely. I like to be active and contribute as much as I can to my community. To that end, every Wednesday night, I hold bum fights in a nearby alley. i treat the winner to dinner. I feel pleased that I'm able to help feed a starving person.
God Bless you!
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