Hi everyone,
I am on vacation this week so I am taking some time to be renewed by The
Lord and run at a slower pace (I may even be walking now!).
It is truly a
blessing for which I am thanking Him. This week I have been doing a lot of
reading and I just finished a book that I highly recommend called, “Being
There – How to love those who are hurting” by Dave Furman. The last chapter
of the book is called “The church’s gracious pursuit of the hurting” and in
it Furman shares some probing and challenging ideas. I hope you are blessed
by the excerpt below.
“Consider these profound words: “The church isn’t a gas station (where your
needs are met), but it’s a bus that I am supposed to be traveling on with
other believers.” The church isn’t a place where you swing by for a quick
fill-up and then go on your way. The journey of the Christian life is
supposed to be made together with other believers on the same trip to the
same destination.
We should always be looking out for the needs of the church. As we consider
a culture of care, an important question we should ask is, if everyone in
the church served like me, what would our church look like? Would that be a
good thing or not? Would our church look like a battleship getting ready for
battle, with everyone working hard for the mission? Or would the church look
more like a cruise ship, with everyone waiting for someone else to serve
them? One practical thins we can do is be ready to serve on the mornings we
head out to corporate worship gatherings. We should go into the gathering
with the mentality that we are ready to serve and help. We go into
conversations asking intentional questions and greeting new people who come
through the door.”
Shall we go to church tomorrow with this mindset? Absolutely!
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to
give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45
For Him,