I have been going through some major struggle in the past couple months. The big thing that I am struggling with is church involvement on the part of God's people. Thanks to some words from Doug Fields' book Your First Two Years In Youth Ministry I have found some comfort.
When I examine the Christians of today, I see the Pharisees. I see people who are outwardly Christian and say they are Christian but there is no involvement in the Church at large. Now do not get me wrong, I am not intending to be judgmental because I am in the same vein. There are times when I feel like I'm putting in my time and doing the things that people can see in order to proclaim the Good News of Jesus. Doug admits in his book that Christianity and spirituality is an inward thing.
Faith is a heart thing. We cannot look into other people's hearts. But does that mean when we see lack of involvement in Church activities and service that are produced by good faith that we should just ignore it because we cannot see their hearts? By no means! The Church needs God's people! The Spirit works through God's people and if God's people do not have time for Church are they being Spiritually fed?
So here is my dilemma: How do we as God's called servants who work for the Church instill this faith in action to God's loved children?
What if we weren't afraid to show the satisfaction and joy that God gives us when we serve Him in love? There is another book that I have started reading called The Pleasure of God written by John Piper. He calls this feeling of satisfaction and joy, Christian Hedonism. Hedonism is traditionally the concept that happiness is the sole good in life. When there is a Christian spin on it, Jesus and our salvation found in Him is the sole good in our life. Let's live by it!
I hear ya. I remember our favorite Dr. Trapp always reminding us in CMP that it isn't our job to heap "new law" on people about what they should be doing, but give them opportunities, give them Gospel, and let the joy and love of the Gospel move them. I think, sometimes, if we have relationships with people that are built on trust, we can have some of those conversations about how faith gets lived out. It can be frustrating, but one of the best ways to affect change is to change yourself and set an awesome example so that others can see what it looks like to live in joy, freedom, and service to God and each other.
ReplyDeleteAnd...all along remembering that we're not going to get it right. That's why Jesus came. Thank the Lord for it. And those sinners that Jesus saved are who fills the Church. Grace is God choosing to use us in spite of us. Awesome. I'm excited to see your enthusiasm and drive to make a difference affect CSP upon your return!