People that Hunger – A Requirement for a Healthy Church
November 27, 2018
Sunday is a day like no other, for many of us. On this first day of the week, we do things quite differently than on other days. We start our day, not at work, play, or with a honey-do list, but gathering with others we don鈥檛 see all week to worship. Then it鈥檚 off to lunch and perhaps an afternoon nap. The day鈥檚 events look nothing like what is awaiting us on Monday.
And maybe that鈥檚 why it happens.
Somehow what we do on Sunday tends to be left to Sundays. We compartmentalize Sundays. We allow the unique activities and unique group of friends to be, well鈥nique. By Sunday鈥檚 end, when we鈥檝e left the events and people of the day behind for another week, it鈥檚 easy to leave the rest of Sunday behind too鈥揝unday鈥檚 sermon is forgotten by Monday, Sunday鈥檚 heart of worship is abandoned for job pressures and the more dominating assignments of the week.
Pastors know the frustrated feeling that Sundays don鈥檛 often leak into the six days that follow. But our recent emphasis on extraordinary Sunday experiences only magnifies the issue. Pastor puts most of his energy into his one-day opportunity, while the congregation grows beyond his ability or energy to encounter through the week. Sundays are just Sundays, and increasingly they are only for Sundays.
Somebody has to halt this path鈥揳nd it鈥檚 usually the people who can. Every time they open a Bible, they bow to pray for something other than food, they open a door for God to impact one of their six days. Each time they pause to worship, to reflect in God鈥檚 goodness or engage His presence near them, they strike a blow against Sunday-only faith.
Now Sundays matter, but it seems that in the Early Church, Mondays and Thursdays (and their four other friends) mattered more. The work of ministry (the stuff pastors are supposed to equip us for) is supposed to happen mostly on those days we鈥檙e not with the Sunday crowd. That鈥檚 why Jesus鈥 command was to 鈥淕o,鈥 not 鈥測鈥檃ll come.鈥
How do we worship God on Mondays? Doesn鈥檛 it boil down to a hunger to really know Him? Isn鈥檛 it really all about wanting His powerful hand stirring up my Fridays? A real relationship with God can鈥檛 be contained in a single day each week, and those who want more know it.
“When people truly hunger for God, they realize that loving Him takes all week.”
Pastor can鈥檛 do a lot to affect that change. Yes, he can slow the Sunday-only focus a bit and seek to equip people for what comes next. He can stop tying Sunday鈥檚 message into a neat little bow, and leave some stuff to be done on Tuesday. But ultimately it鈥檚 the people who have to want more鈥ot more church services but more of God in their lives off campus.
People who hunger for God don鈥檛 quarrel easily. They manage to keep their pride and self-focus in check as well. They tend to lift others up while they look for ways to serve the God they love. In fact, the more they are loving God, the more likely they are to love people鈥搒ince you can鈥檛 really separate the two.
Spiritually-hungry people drive everything that鈥檚 healthy about a congregation. So if you want to see God working more powerfully among your own faith community, start letting Him work more powerfully in your own life. Pastor, you can join the hunger as well. Remember that God will always grow His Church by growing His people. No other strategy can be healthy.
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