Priority Confusion #2

Well, here we are for round two. I am going to try and keep this one short and simple. Let's discuss punctuality. Over the last several years of being a youth minister and now a preacher, I can assure you that this is not just a youth problem. As a matter of fact, I would say that kids are only modeling what they have learned from their parents. The adults are just as guilty, if not more.

On average, I would say that adults and teens are at least 15-20 minutes late to Bible class/church on Sunday and Wednesday. On Sunday mornings the most common excuse… "I just couldn't get up in time" or "I just couldn't get ready in time." Really? We start Sunday morning Bible class at 9:30am. Worship at 10:30am. The average student and adult must be to school and work by 8:00am. So, are we really trying to make the argument that we can be ready and to school and work by 8:00am 5-6 days a week, but we can't make to church on time; which starts an hour and a half later? Or, if it is just worship, two and half hours later?

No one wants to be late to work and face an upset or angry boss. No student wants to be tardy to school and face detention or possibly even Saturday school. But who cares if we show up late to church. God is merciful, forgiving, and gracious, right? God is not at all offended or hurt when we show up late on the day we have set aside to worship him.

I know, I know…you are thinking that I am too harsh, too blunt, or too personal. Well, I do take it personal; and not because I am a preacher. No, I take it personal that we would rather give more priority to our own personal lives than to our spiritual lives. It never ceases to amaze me when I watch so many give so little to their own spiritual growth and formation, then to seem so confused when their relationship with God is weak and their spiritual lives are in so much disarray.

Priority confusion…How would our churches change if we were hungry for God? What if we showed up early to pray with friends? What if we showed up early to greet guests? What if we showed up early, just because?

Priority Confusion #1

Okay, here is the first thought in a series of thoughts on priority toward our spiritual formation.

There are 24 hours in a day. 7 days in a week. So, there are 168 hours in a week. If we work an average 8 hours a day for 5 – 6 days per week, then we work on average 40-48 hours per week.

This leaves us with 120 – 128 hours. If we follow the recommended pattern for rest, then we get 8 hours of sleep per night. This leaves us with 64 – 72 hours for personal, family and/or leisure time.

For the purposes of this discussion, the average "dedicated" churchgoer attends church, or church related Bible studies, about 4 hours per week. 4 hours! Out of 64 – 72 hours, only 4 of those are devoted to church. Comparatively speaking, that is a very minimal amount of time to give to the one who created you, saved you, and loves you.

Okay, I am serious here. I recently received a complaint from a member of my church that the service was too long. Seriously!? On average, our Sunday morning worship runs about 1.5 hours. The member that complained, very seldom if ever comes to worship. Dare I say I can't even remember the last time I saw him/her in a Bible class. So, in short, out of a whopping 64 – 72 hours left over in his/her week, 1.5 hours was too much to devote to worshipping God. Is that asking too much, really?

Priorities…how can we ever expect to deepen our relationship with God if we can't even worship him for more than an hour per week!? The sad part…this isn't the first (nor will it be the last) time I have heard this complaint from a member of my church.

Change: I need it!

I realize that it has been quite some time since my last post on this site. I guess in many ways I have been struggling with whether or not the things I write mean anything to anyone but me. That is one of my greatest downfalls in life. I have for many years struggled so much with what others think of me. That little nugget of realization and confession has caused me more unnecessary grief than you can possibly imagine.

This blog is going to change. I have put myself under so much unnecessary stress in an effort to write "articles" that I believed people would be interested in reading. Only to find out, I am really not a good consistent writer. I am more of a random thinker. So, in that same spirit, I want to change "Tidbits for the Road". Who knows what will pop up on here? It may be a Scripture for the day, for the week...it may be a joke or a story...it may be a poem...it may be a video or audio clip...it may be an "article." Who knows? What I can assure is that I will only post it if I believe it has something to do with our spiritual journey as followers of Christ. You may enjoy reading it, and you may not. My prayer is that it will benefit those who read it in some way, form, or fashion.

With that being said, I am about to begin a series of posts (undetermined in number) entitled "Priority Confusion." I invite you to follow and read the series. I invite you to share your own thoughts and insights. Each one of these does affect our spiritual journey, so feel free to share your tidbits concerning the topics of discussion.