We are now entering a brand spanking new year. Resolutions will be made by everyone, including you who believe you are being clever by resolving to not make any resolutions.
Naturally, I, as a pastor, have what I believe to be a very appropriate suggestion, one aimed especially at anyone who has been out of church for a while and sulking that, in their minds, church people have not properly pursued them:
Fill your spot.
So, you say you’ve been out of church for a while, and that uncaring, meanie church has stopped checking on you? Let’s talk about that a bit. Bear in mind, please, that I am not writing as a struggling pastor with anyone in mind; my church is far bigger as this year ends than it was when the year began. Third year in a row for that, actually, and, praise God, we are looking to expand our facilities to accommodate the growth. But that growth is actually what got me thinking on this subject.
Christians can be a weird bunch of people. One of the ways they can be weird is that they selectively choose which parts of the Bible apply to them, and when. For instance, they are not sheep when it comes to following the shepherds God has placed over them (1 Peter 5:1-2; Acts 20:28), but they suddenly become sheep when they get out of church, and expect everyone to drop whatever they are doing and go looking for them week, after week, after week, after …