Friday, August 13, 2010

Contributing to Church

Why do people get bored with church?  If you've been going to church for any reasonable amount of time, it starts becoming routine after a while.  You get there, sit in "your" pew, fellowship with the folks behind you; then the service begins, the congregation sings, the choir sings, they take up the offering, the congregation sings again, someone sings a special, the preacher gives the message; the service ends, you fellowship with another family, and everyone goes home.  Yawn.

Life is supposed to be exciting!  How do you put the skip back in your step if you have "church burn-out"?  To answer, let me ask few more questions: Do you contribute anything to the service, besides your body sitting in the pew?  During the congregational singing, do you think about the words of the song and sing unto the Lord with your whole heart?  When the offering plates are passed around, do you quietly listen and soak in the beautiful music?  During the message, do you listen carefully for quotes you can jot down and apply to your life?  An hour after the service, do you even remember what was preached?

Many times we find ourselves "taking" from the service but never "giving."  If you tried to "give" of yourself by being a friend to someone, but she never reciprocated, the friendship would never work.  The pastor and church staff work hard every week to contribute to the service, but if the church members always take and never give back, the church will be dead.  If you're just going through the motions, it's no wonder you're bored with church!  Join the choir, invite your neighbors to ride to church with you, or offer to help with an activity.  Invest some of yourself in the work of the Lord.  You will only get out of the service what you put into it.  

4 comments:

  1. Your description mirrors my contribution and participation sometimes, but not always. There are times that I just can't sing because I can't see the words or I don't know the tune. It is easy when the songs are old familiar tunes.

    Good post with lots of interesting thoughts. Clear and concise presentation.

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  2. Thank you for your input! It's understandable to not sing at the top of your lungs if you don't know the tune... Your point of emphasis doesn't have to be the singing. I failed to post numerous other ways to contribute to a church service. Perhaps a few of these might help:

    -Tell the pastor that you're thankful he allows God to speak through him and that his messages are a blessing.
    -Buy the pastor's wife a CD of encouraging music, or a book that you've already read and have been blessed thereby.
    -Start a "candy ministry." Give a small piece of candy to every child that happens your way -- they'll tell their friends and soon you'll have a smiley fan club surround you after every church service.

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  3. You're a blessing and an encouragement to us, Suzette! Thanks for your blog...can't take time to read it all, but LOVED hitting the high spots! Praying for you and Tim...Love you! Mrs. Janna

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