I was thinking about this in light of some "tongue in cheek" conversations lately about me. Everyone seems to know what they are looking for me to do and be… believe me, I don’t ever and can’t possibly measure up to everyone’s "list."
So here’s my quick list of what I’m looking for in a church attender:
- Faithful: Makes attendance a priority (Want a number? 45+ Sunday’s per year), makes the church’s vision a priority in their lives, prays for the church, gives to the church, talks positively about the church, deals with conflict in accordance to what Jesus teaches.
- Available: Not wrapping their entire lives up in the church, but is available to serve in accordance to the gifts God has given them. 1 Corinthians 12 teaches that the church body is made up of many parts… unavailable parts mean that the church is handicapped in it’s mission.
- Teachable: They learn from God’s word with open ears. As James writes, the exemplify the difference between "hearing" and "receiving."
This isn’t a new list. This has long been taught by Sonlife… and I like it.
There are a lot of people trolling the community for "the perfect church" in their eyes. As if fallible people could somehow create something infallible? Along the same accord, I wonder how many people trolling church’s are willing to ask themselves, "Am I a good church attender? Am I willing to be faithful, available, and teachable at any church?"
So, before you compare people to your ideal… make sure you’re looking at yourself with "sober judgment." Romans 12:3
And my responsibility is to live up the expectations that God has for me, not those of public opinion. Praise God for His abundant grace and mercy!
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