Tuesday Transformation

I've only been on one cruise in my lifetime, but I really, really enjoyed. How could you not enjoy a cruise? All the food you could ever want at your fingertips all day long, and then there's even more food on top of that. No worries, no problems, literally nothing but you, people you care about, beautiful water, and a big boat. The cruise was one of the most relaxing times I've ever had in my life. However, I knew the cruise would eventually end and it would be back to the daily grind, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I started thinking about how so many people live the "Christian" life as if they are on a cruise. They don't want anything to interrupt their day. They love their routines and comforts. They work in the "religious" motions of showing up at a building on Sunday mornings, opening their Bible (if they even bring their Bible), singing along to some songs, closing their eyes during a prayer (even though they are thinking about the kickoff at 1:00), saying hi to a few people, and heading back home. We so often cruise into "church" and cruise right along with our lives never missing a beat.

My prayer for The Overflow is that we won't live with this type of outlook on life. If you claim to be a follower of Christ, you honestly can't live like this. You must engage with the reality of God's Word and your life. The demands of following Jesus are nothing like going on a cruise. If being a Christian is easy for you, then chances are you aren't doing very much to build His Kingdom. I'm not saying that everyday should be exhausting, stressful, and a war with the world, but I am saying that your routine should be broken on a regular basis. You should engage in new conversations with new people each week. You should serve someone this week in a way you didn't last week.

Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC, once said, "People don’t grow by being allowed to live in mediocrity." I recently challenged our launch team to formally commit to where we are headed as a church. I don't want them to be content with simply showing up and "cruising" through the motions of launching a church. They need to understand what's expected and what's needed.

Some leaders fear challenging people to step up and commit. They fear that someone may leave their church or be offended. I was a little nervous about it, but I knew it had to be done. My goal in challenging people to step up is to let each person know that where they've been and where they are can't compete with where God wants to take them. However, they'll never get there without commitment. I refuse to be a leader that allows people to dwell in mediocrity and simply embrace the comfortable Christian life (which as I read the Bible, I'm not for sure there is such a thing, but that's another conversation) Jesus, our leader and example, washed people's feet and died on a cross! There's nothing simple, mediocre, or routine about that!