Well, here we are at the beginning of another new week (or end, depending on your point of view). Sunday may well be a day of rest for most, but for ministers, vicars, priests, and the like, it's very much a working day. It always strikes me as a strange anomaly that the very people who urge others not to work on Sundays have to work themselves. I constantly remind people of the importance of joining in fellowship on a Sunday in order to worship God and to have their spiritual needs ministered to, and yet I rarely get the opportunity to do so myself.
It's somewhat of a riddle isn't it, as to who cares for the carers, or who ministers to the ministers. Of course, in the process of being a channel to a congregation then the minister also receives a great blessing, but how precious are those Sundays when, despite the job, the minister can sit in another congregation and be ministered to.
Today I shall be away from my home church (pictured above this blog), ministering to the needs of a fellowship in Liverpool. Due to massive problems with their building and a decline due to the area being zoned for regeneration, they will be closing their doors for ever before too long. I feel for the members as they face this, for it's like being forced out of your home after many years of occupation.
So many churches have fallen sadly into decline because there has been a complacency amongst the membership. It's so important for the church to continually grow, that being the way in which it evolves, yet so many members feel that their church is a place where the growth is purely the job of the minister. Of course this is not the case! It's the job of every member to share the word as they live out their lives, and in so doing, to invite others to join the fellowship.
What's it like in your church? How well do you fulfil the Great Commandment that has been given to every Christian?
No comments:
Post a Comment