Number 500

500 posts. That’s a lot and I may be miscounting but between my two blogs today, with this post, I celebrate 500. I don’t like to brag about all the awards and recognition this blog has gotten, first of all, cause I’m super humble and secondly because there haven’t been any. Regardless, I blog on - and thank you for the comments. That is what keeps this blog going. My readers are wonderful, insightful people. If you don’t read the comments you ought to start skipping the post and going straight to the comment section!

I want to do a sort of a blog brain wash today. Here are a bunch of disassociated quotes, thoughts, stats, ideas that have accumulated in my blog folder for “eventual” posts but seem to have never made the cut. Some of them are rich:

"The unchurched aren’t asking for watered-down messages, just practical ones. They want to hear something on Sunday that they can apply on Monday." R. Warren

I think your assessment is on target. Are people growing - being transformed into the image of Christ. Are we growing people who will be faithful to HIm come what may...and what may come may now be closer than ever before.  There is also the question of are you growing each other.  I really think that may be the primary purpose of the church - we could do all we do separate except encourage and challenge each other.  Prayer, study, singing (four part harmony isn't in the text), giving to good works, remember the Lord in the supper, even evangelism...BUT we could not have people to spur us on!  That is, in my estimation...WHY CHURCH. So then should not our focus be on encouraging and challenging each other?  Just my thoughts… (dj)

I want every week to be someone's first Sunday - somebody to experience what you experienced the first time you came into Spring Meadows. And I want to get to enjoy that experience with them - to hep make it special.

Is it an experience? A celebration? A rally? A service? An experience? Where do we get authority for what we call it? And what is the justification for what you call it? I know the simple answer is “worship” but worship can take many forms. There is “Come together” worship, “family worship”, “personal worship”...worship is “homage paid” - and at it’s base can be anywhere and any time. God said for us to come together to worship as a Unit, but if that is all the worship in your life you are sorely missing out. I suppose I most often use the word “service”, as in “worship service” but that is rather antiseptic. It is a time of experience as we get to be together with those who love Him and are “on the same page” as we are - different than the rest of our time in the world. It is a time of celebration - I have long believed we ought to close the time of The Supper with a song of celebration. The Supper is to remember a death BUT I can’t think of His death without thinking of His Overcoming - His resurrection. It is a rally too - a time where we come to “rally” the troops, to rejuvenate so we can face the world - some of us need this aspect of worship more than others because of what we face during the week. (dj)

I’ve got a shocking challenge for you today. I want you to stop giving to the church! If every Christian would do that the church would be much, MUCH better off. Churches could stop feeling guilty asking for additional funding, members could stop getting mad at churches for asking, we’d all be better off. Instead, I want you to give to the Lord. While our giving goes to help with the work the church is doing - it is a return to the Lord (as He prospers you) if you give to church you give grudgingly - cause I’ve never seen a church where I liked where all the money went…(pay for dumpsters, some mission work I know nothing about, some staff member I wish wasn’t there, an emergency fund -I fought so hard at one place against one that it came back and bit me about 5 years later-I don’t like it but, trust me, you need one). So, stop giving to the church - you’ll over think it - start giving to the Lord! (dj)

Family as an excuse: I used to tell churches that family was my priority and that if I saved all of (insert city name here) but lost my boys I’d be miserable and failing in what God wants me to take care of first. I still in essence believe that BUT don’t use your wife and kids as an excuse...or set a poor example where they think soccer, football, dance, baseball, piano, studies, etc. are all it is about. What I’m seeing in some today are some dangerous attitudes:
- I can’t give up nights of the week for Bible studies because, I’ve got a family. Preacher types, listen up, Wendol Winkler was right when he said that “great churches are not built in the day time.”
- Or member: My child had a lot of homework so we didn’t come to midweek Bible study. Are you listening to yourself? You just taught your child that school is more important than God’s word. You set a priority example for them. Or some who put their child in every sports event they can be in and take them from youth events, worship services. Mark my word - your child will not be a spiritual giant - the best you can hope for is nominal Christianity out of them - and the Lord said that makes Him sick at His stomach (Rev. 3).

Hey don’t forget being a jerk is as much a sin as instrumental music or not being baptized…(Andy Walker)

“If your memory is more than your dreams the end is near…” (not sure where I got that one but I like it anyway. If it was you, thanks).

I could go on - I’ve got another truck load of these that I’m holding but I’ll stop for now cause this has gotten way too long.

Happy 500th! Thanks for commenting.