The Well Blog

I have been thinking and reading a lot about Sundays (or Wednesdays in our case) for the last few weeks. I love the local church and I really love when they gather in the name of Christ. Within a service there is relationship, worship, prayer, confession, sacraments, preaching, and equipping that occurs. I look forward every week to seeing familiar faces, meeting new ones, and participating in the flow of our church. We are always open to new ideas, trying new things, and examining our gathering time as a staff.

At the campus I oversee, some of the staff and I have been talking a lot about how we can raise the sights of all God's people on a Sunday. We hope to encourage participation and fight consumerism in the church. Yes, it is possible for people to come on a Sunday, take and take, and never give anything back. To fight that mentality, could I offer four ways you could make Sunday's better? These aren't revolutionary ideas, but maybe some of them have escaped you recently.

1. Show up early.

Let's face it. Every one of us is busy. We all have things that side track our attention and get us to fall behind schedules. I want you to know: we were designed for community. We need to be relationally healthy people. God uniquely designed mankind, especially redeemed Christian mankind to work together. One Body, many members. If we can't connect relationally, the body could be divided and worship is affected. I challenge you to move your current schedule back 15 minutes on a Sunday and see what happens when you come to a service. Look for a different place to sit, or look for someone by himself or herself and sit right next to them. No courtesy seats here.

2. Ready your heart and mind.

Our tech teams, worship teams, and pastoral staff get there early. We are prayed up, thought up, and have a plan for the day. I do know you don't get to do that. You're stuffing kids' faces with cereal, getting clothes on, staying caffeinated, and trying no to lose it to the guy that cut you off while driving to a service. You get there, race to check your kids in, re-caffeinate, and shuffle into the sanctuary already missing the opening 15 minutes. Hopefully you see what accomplishing number one above will do for you here. How can you cultivate a ready heart and mind? Pray in the shower or talk to your kids while driving without the radio on. Maybe even get crazy and pray while you're driving. (The Well doesn't recommend closing your eyes during prayer while operating heavy machinery). Ask God to get you ready for what you get to experience with fellow brother and sisters.

3. Bring your Bible.

We have said this for years. We really do believe you have the ability to open your own Bible and hear from the Lord. It is actually the method he chose for revealing much of his nature, heart, and character to his creation. Bring a pen too. Mark up verses, write down questions, get in and get after God's Word on a Sunday. Don't be a spectator who watches and keeps a proverbial arms length away. We don't even care if your bible is on your phone or tablet. Have it out, have it on, and be ready for what God has.

4. Listen and Apply

I know for a fact there is a big idea floating around on a Sunday. We talk and plan week after week to raise one big idea for our people to grasp out of God's work. From the opening welcome to the sending words at the end, it's there. Have you heard it before? Maybe it was the phrase, "live with the end in mind." Maybe you have heard the question "how do you live morally in an amoral world?" Each week we hope to leave you with something you can grasp and wrestle with through the week. Once you've gotten back to your dorm, home, or apartment keep thinking about it. When you wake up ask yourself if you remember the idea from yesterday. When the big idea carries into your daily life, God may use it to keep working on you. Try it, I double dog dare you!

Let's strengthen our gathering time together.