Growing up in the church, going to a Bible college, and graduating from seminary has taught me a lot about the Bible. Even though I know a little bit of Bible info I still get a lot out of church. Here are some things I do to get the most out of church...
- Go. My friend Jamey Menser often says that you have 100% more chance of winning the lottery if you play then if you don't play. The same is true of church. You will get 100% more out of church if you go then if you don't go.
- Volunteer. If you really want to get something out of church don't just sit and soak. Give back.
- Pray for your pastor and staff.
- Invite people. When you invite you see church through someone else's eyes. If you don't feel like you can invite to your church then maybe it's time to find a church where you can.
- Invest in other people. In my opinion the best way to learn is to teach others.
- Give. You are more likely to pay attention if you are invested. There is no greater sign of being invested in the church then giving financially.
- Ask God to speak to your heart before you go to the service.
- Apply what is taught. You don't really learn unless you change your behavior. For example I know a lot about eating right because I've read it, heard it, and even tried it once or twice. But I don't do it on a weekly basis, so the question is what good is the knowledge that I have? It doesn't do you any good unless you do something with what you are taught.
Sound advice. But I do understand the initial argument about finding a church that "fits" your intellect and attitude. Perhaps it's a matter of style and approach, perhaps size and attitude. Sometimes I have found that two people tell you the exact same thing and you listen to one and ignore the other. It is not always clear why, but it happens a lot.
ReplyDeletenice list rob...i think it is in many ways influences by how you grew up viewing the church as well...it think that one of the biggest problems is the church taking responsibility to teach children away from the parents...not that it was set out to do that...but unless a church bridges the gap between themselves and hte parents in many ways it becomes viewed as the place to take your kids to learn about God....which really should be the home...there is so much more opportunity there...
ReplyDeleteHmmm. I too have considered how much one needs to expect from themselves within a church, but I'm not sure you're defending your argument. There is certainly a level of responsibility of a church to educate their congregation and attendees, regardless of the format that it is presented in, and the heavy responsibility through God's judgment with how the flock is nurtured, attended, and challenged.
ReplyDeleteJesus' traveling ministry began at 30, but it is unlikely that he kept silent about his beliefs and about the foundation of his faith before that. It's shown in Luke 2:41-52 that Jesus was listening to and asking questions of the rabbis, who were floored by his wisdom and replies. If he were that astute, chances are he was doing a lot of his own research. It didn't hurt that he was the actual embodiment of The Word. The culture that Christ lived in also held Scriptures and the customs in the most formal of practice, so the word would have been the majority of the service. Discussing it would thereby not have involved the things that technology-immersed 21st century people would be accustomed to. Every time that he heard a message, he would have been taught by an older Rabbi, that had been heavily studying the Torah and similar writings since he was a teenager or younger under the constant company of a much older rabbi. It is unlikely that He would have been bored in the complexity of the messages he was presented with, even if He was The Word Made Flesh.
Point by point, though, I think that you're actually setting up the case for the plaintiff instead of defending your point of view-
The "Go/Lottery" analogy says 2 things, Gambling is worthwhile, and the odds of winning in gambling if one participates are comparable, in this illustration, to getting something out of a church service. While this may be seen as taking the illustration to literally, the selection of a person's words illustrate their own development in belief. (In reality gambling is dangerous for Christians, illustrated in Ecclesiastes 5:10, and 1 Timothy 6:10). Yes, though, going will expose you to the service. The benefits of attending a service will be addressed in a bit.
Volunteering is a great way to "plug in", but unless one is being fed by being educated, and spiritually led by the church already, and is a solid Christian, they are more of a danger to a new believer that comes to them (because they are "involved") for guidance. To use a "pop" reference, the youngest doctors (the interns) on Gray's Anatomy are the ones that make the biggest mistakes, which are likely to be most life threatening. You want Bailey or Shepard working on you, because they're the most grounded and experienced.
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ReplyDeletePraying for the pastor only works when the congregation understands what prayer is, what it can do, and what kind of an investment it is. Even the DISCIPLES asked Christ to teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1-13). That theologically thick information isn't always a crowd pleaser, but is a bridge worth crossing.
ReplyDeleteThe invite a friend to church point actually overtly states that if you don't feel like you can invite someone else, that you might need to look elsewhere. That suggestion honestly stated that you believe that the service and messages being presented might not feed a need. That's what you were trying to say initially, though, right?
I believe the "invest in other people" point is explained by the "volunteer" point discussion. Jesus invested in everyone (obviously), but most intimately with 12 guys his own age, with the addition of his mom, and a couple of gals. He was perfect and could talk to anyone without any awkwardness. I think that the popular concept of home-groups and community-groups are built to try to build those kind of relationships, but when the age range is too widely stretched, the investments can be strained. Age- and walk-appropriate grouping are how Christians are grown and solidified, and those that are the most experienced/mature should lead the newbies. Therein lies the rub, though, because the mature Christians have needs, and if they're expected to read deeper within the popular culture references to learn about the history of the church, or how a verse has been applied differently to different cultures, then growth may be slowed or stunted.
Give. It's scriptural, it's important, and it's circular (No one out-gives God). I do agree that those that give are invested and astute, but are also the most likely to disapprove if their tithe and offerings are spent in a manner that they disagree with or see as potentially wasteful.
Applying what is taught is relative so WHAT is taught. If a number of things that are nonscriptural (whether it be anecdotal or pop)were referenced in a sermon, even if it is framed by several verses of scripture, but an attender didn't see the relevance thereby not making a connection to the sermon, it's as if you're saying "it's your fault if you don't get something out of it."
There are a lot of souls walking into a lot of churches, looking for the same answers that were overtly spoken in Christ's lifetime. The heaviest burden lies with pastors of all of those churches... Whether their flocks truly understand what Christ did for them, why He did it, and what the Word really says, in entirety, because Christ didn't come to us as "The New Testament (NIV) Made Flesh" or "the Ten Commandments Made Flesh" but the entirety of the Word. Pastors are held to a heavy account for their flocks by God on the Day of His Judgement. Being fed is definitely partly on the lay person, but it is dangerous not to see the responsibility of providing for those who need milk, while simultaneously not sacrificing the needs of those that need meat to grow. God Bless you! You bring up a difficult subject... many eyes, many ears, many perspectives.