Speed Bumps
Yesterday we had our Christmas services at Grace Bible Church Kapolei. One element we always add to these "big" services is food. We do this for a couple of reasons: first, it adds a special-ness to the service because we don't serve food every week. Second - and more importantly - it creates a speed bump after the service. Food slows people down and prevents people from racing to their cars.
I think speed bumps are critical to the health of a church. Slowing people down creates an opportunity to connect with people. I love it after church when I see people praying for each other, trading phone numbers, or just having conversation. The reality is there will always be a percentage of people who don't connect with the church in any other way than attending on Sundays. Speed bumps help us to connect with those people too.
We have a hospitality tent set up weekly with coffee and snacks to encourage people to linger. Just another speed bump.
Yesterday I connected with a guy who's been checking us out over the last year or so. He walked in after not being in church for months. He's looking for hope and he knew to come to Jesus. So, over a plate of chow fun and manapua we decided to get together weekly for a season so we can walk though the "stuff" together. Thank God for the speed bump.
Why do I need to go to church?
For part 3 of our FAQ series we will answer the question, "Why do I need to go to church?"
If you think you need to go to church to be a good person, become more spiritual, or reserve your spot in heaven, then you don't need to go to church. There are lots of good people who don't go to church. Many people are in touch with their spirutality outside of church. And going to church will guarantee you a place in heaven no more than sitting on an airplane will make you a pilot, or going to McDonald's will make you into a Big Mac.
So, why go to church?
From my early teens to my early 20's I was pretty disengaged from church. I attended church, but I wasn't there, if you know what I mean. I mostly went out of obligation and because I liked a girl (she's my wife now). It wasn't until I turned 22 that I discovered I needed to go to church. When I think back, the need to go to church stemmed from a simple yet life-altering decision: I decided to follow Jesus.
It was this decision that caused me to need to go to church. I admit, I haven't always been happy with church, or I haven't always felt like going to church. Yet my commitment to follow Christ goes deeper than man's faults or how I'm feeling. In short, if I'm committed to following Jesus I need to go to church.
This Sunday we explore how following Jesus and going to church cannot be exclusive to each other.
Let me also say that at GBCK we try hard to make church a comfortable and compelling place for people to meet Jesus. This includes those who are discovering, or re-discovering, a relationship with Jesus.
There are many reasons not to go to church. Yet the ONE reason to go is found in the decision to follow Jesus who "loves us as if there's only one of us." (Augustine)
Life’s measure
Every few months I measure the height of my three boys. I do it the old school way. No fancy tools or cartoon wall charts. I make them stand ramrod straight against the door jamb of my office with a book on their heads and note their height with a pencil. Then we stand back and ooooh and ahhhhh at how much they've grown. They are growing fast.
Have you ever thought about how much we humans measure things?
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