Just Another weird Sunday

Sorry I haven't followed up on Thursday's post. Be sure to read the comments by a reader. I've got some thoughts started, but need to polish them a bit before posting. I hope to have them up tonight or tomorrow. For now, read about my weird Sunday.

The Bangles hated Manic Monday (I can't believe they're still touring!) They preferred Sunday because that was their "fun day". For me, today (Sunday) was another weird day. For approximately thirty years, I have spent practically every Sunday in a brick and mortar church. For the last ten years, I have spent those Sundays in church as a pastor. Yesterday as I prepared for Sunday to arrive, the weirdness began as I knew I would not be in "church".

The difficulties began when my wife, who has been stuck in the house all week with the kids, said, "We have to go to a church tomorrow. I need some social contact outside this house." I predicted this would happen if you would recall. She even said, "We don't have to go every week, just once a month or so." We than began to list the possible places to attend this morning. As we listed them, weighed the pros and cons that we knew of for each one, we came up with zero choices. By the time we turned out the light last night, we had agreed that we would stay the course we are on. FYI, it was her decision, not mine.

Part of our discussion last night centered on what it meant to be a follower of Christ in the social, personal, and behaviorial contexts. We examined our social lives over the last two years. We reviewed how the brick and mortar church with its set schedules dictated our social lives. Our only social contact throughout the week occurred only on the appointed church related events. That's not a bad thing, but we had become dependent on this organizational structure to take care of too many parts of our lives.

This morning while Tammy cleaned up the breakfast dishes, I began putting the final touches on our family service. I came across Isaiah 58. It's a great chapter on what God considers true worship - feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, etc. But it also talks about the importance of keeping the Sabbath (verses 13-14). Here I began to question our current course again. Are we doing the right thing?

As I contemplated that last question, Tammy began playing the piano. She played through a book of familiar worship songs, new and old. As she played, I prayed. Memories of corporate worship services, singing with other believers, rolled through my mind, and an emptiness carved itself out of my heart. "God," I prayed, "are we doing the right thing? Am I leading my family in the right direction?"

Eventually, all four of us gathered in the living room. I read Isaiah 58 and the four of us discussed it. We talked about Acts 2:42-47 in light of this chapter. As a family we decided we were not giving God our true worship. We made a list of things that we could become intentional about doing as a way of giving God our worship and demonstrating his love to those around us. So look out - a friendly neighborhood visit, canned food drive, and some even more radical and ambitious projects are coming your way.

After over thirty minutes of discussing Scripture with my wife, my ten year old and my seven and a half year old sons, Sunday was not so weird. We had truly given God our time. And we didn't necessarily end it at the conclusion of our "service". We made commitments to make God a real part of our lives without an organizational crutch. Sunday turned out to not be so weird after all.