Hiya folks, I went for a stroll today in the snow. (Isn't it deep!!!!!) I popped into a couple of shops to buy a few bits and bobs - some pins and paint - in preparation for this evening's youth activity : Source Room (our youth hideout) redecoration. One of our church attenders has already painted all the walls white so we're halfway there!! I decided to take a detour on the way home, getting some exercise ready for our trip to the Lake District in February. As I was walking I spent some time praying and thinking and God brought our church and our church needs to my heart. Three 'Essential Behavioural Patterns', as I've affectionately labelled them, came to mind. - Ones which I believe can change the course of your church life. So get your brain in gear, keep your eyes peeled, and turn your hearing aid up, cos this is a good one.
So, there are three essential behavioural patterns we can adopt, which will contribute to maintaining a consistently healthy church, and these are:
Receptiveness Generosity & Thankfulness
Receptiveness. The ability to receive. To 'Listen'. To 'Hear'. To 'Take in'. Nehemiah 8 v 3: '...He (Ezra) faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law...' Sometimes it can be hard for us to receive something that we're not used to receiving, we're used to SUBCONSCIOUSLY responding to things. Here we're talking about being intentionally receptive, or in other words, making an effort to learn something. It's important that we go away from our exciting times together, applying new behaviours to our lives, changing the way we do things based on a word that spoke to our hearts. Sometimes it just takes a little push from your side, a decision to hear your church leader(s) out. Receptiveness.
Generosity. The ability to be generous. To 'Give'. To 'Bring Something'. To 'Use What You Have'. 2 Corinthians 9 v 6: '...But I will say this to encourage your generosity: the one who plants little harvests little, and the one who plants plenty harvests plenty...' This is arguably the hardest thing for people to commit to. This could be for one of two reasons 1.) We think that the gift we have 'just isn't good enough.' or 2.) 'It's more appealing to be given something.' I want to offer you not just two, but THREE! very good reasons to be generous this Sunday. 1.) When you're generous people will want to be generous to you! 2.) You begin to feel your thoughts and actions lining up with Gods' when you actively pursue it. and 3.) There's an overwhelming sensation that you've done something good, making you generally happier with life! And if you're not convinced yet, try it out for yourself!
Thankfulness. The ability to be thankful. To 'Thank'. With joy, To 'Acknowledge Something Good'. To 'Speak Well Of Someone/thing'. Psalm 100 v 4: 'Go through His gates, giving praise. Offer Him your gratitude and praise His holy name.' Thankfulness is such a precious thing. It unquestionably brings us closer to the Father's heart. The majority of the way we behave throughout our daily lives depends on what we hear on a regular basis and this usually falls into the category of one of two strands A) What someone have said. or B) What we have said. Frequently, a combination of the two. Imagine how joyful we could be if we could bring thankfulness to God and to others in our church lives every week instead of complaining about a song someone has chosen in the morning or being annoyed at the inconsistent church attendance of Joe Bloggs.
Similarities you might have stumbled across as you have observed my description of the need for these behavioural patterns in church is that they all require something of us. They require time. They require commitment. They require a conscious decision to change. It's an active outward expression, enabling something to happen instead of allowing stuff to just go on as normal in your place of worship (or place for having a nap in some cases). The up side of all this (if for any reason you may see time, commitment, and change as negatives) is that when you personally apply these behaviours to the way you do church, over time your fellowship will become a place that is exciting. Every week that you spend together will become effortlessly fun, life changing for you, your church and your community, and God will be glorified.
The truth is that it doesn't really matter in which order you operate in these behaviours because God values them equally. He always wants us to be thankful because He gave His Son for us on the cross to die and rise again so that we may be brought to life. He always wants us to be receptive because God can speak to you through every thing that you see around you, and the chances are that if you make a conscious decision to listen He will speak! And He always wants you to be generous because God wants the people around you to be blessed and for you to know the joy that comes when you give in every situation 24/7.
God Bless and see you all soon, Ad :)
[B.T: The Voice Bible, New Living Translation]
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