Passion...

Awhile back I was contemplating the difference between the "sold out" for Jesus person and the "regular church attender". Both believe in Jesus. Both have acknowledged his Lordship in their lives. However, one is consumed with a passion for Christ that is evident in every facet of life. It goes beyond attending each Sunday. Don't get me wrong, attending each week is an awesome part of being a Christ follower. But for "sold out" Jesus person, attending church is as natural as breathing. It is consistent, sustaining, and live giving.

Regular Church Attender, RCA, has a heart of gold and may even give consistently, but there is a time when they are confronted with a deeper level of commitment to the body, that forces them to stop in there tracks so to speak. That crossroads is, serving in the church. Sold Out, SO, person is serving from day one. Get saved, wants to start doing something for God right out of the gate. And yes we all know someone who does it for the wrong motives. Time weeds those people out. I remember sitting in silence after accepting God free gift of salvation and thinking "how can I ever repay him for what he has done for me?". In fact I can't, but because he is my King, I will be a loyal subject in his Kingdom and do whatever he asks of me. And believe me, he has asked me to do some very challenging things in my time as his disciple. My point is, I never thought about not serving in the church. I made a big mistake early on in my journey and being on the worship team, I was asked to sit out while everything was worked out. It was, but in the mean time, it was killing me not to do something. So, I volunteered for everything that I could to from picking up trash to wiring mic cable. I even ran the monitor board in the new building. Which by the way was in the back and no one even knew you were there. Once my situation was resolved, I was back on the team. But I learned a lot about serving. I learned, it didn't matter how high profile the position was, or how behind the scenes it was, I loved to serve the church. By the way, it was not a moral failure as to why I asked to sit out. To long of a story to put on this page. By me a coffee one day and I'll tell you.

Fast forward 10 years. I still have that drive and determination. It has ebbed at times, but only because I was introduced to some different philosophies about serving in ministry. As with everything, there is a season. I have been a part of 2 church plants, and am now serving with one that is 2 years old. And SO person is the reason they are successful and survive. Even thrive for that matter. The more SO people the greater the movement will be.

SO person wants to mow the lawn, direct traffic, vacuum, hang lights, run sound, play music, teach a life group, and all at the same time if they could. So, how do you get RCA, to become SO? Is SO person just bent that way naturally? Maybe we, the leadership, needs to become creative in way to get RCA involved in a way that is meaningful to them. Maybe, SO has some RCA friends and doesn't know how to get them involved? Again I am just pondering these things. I think of this passage when ever I get thinking about this.

Luke 7:47 (English Standard Version)

⁴⁷Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little."

Don't really know the answer, I just know I can see a difference. I love RCA's and SO's equally and don't pass judgment. I have seen some SO's blow out cause they get going so fast they forget to pause and "Bam" they are out. More on this later. I'm going to search my own heart and make sure I am doing all that God wants of me. Later...