A Loving Church

I read a great article recently by Rick Warren in a “Ministry ToolBox” weekly e-mail on the Pastors.com website called "The Secret of A Loving Church." I hope it is as encouraging and challenging to you as it was to me.

Our church recently wrapped up a "40 Days of Purpose" Campaign and I am curious about what types of new commitments were made (if any) in our church during the 40 Days. I have had several people thank me for leading our church through the campaign but my hope is that it caused more than just warm-fuzzies in the lives of my church family. Will this Purpose Driven Life experience have a real impact on the future life of our church? Only God knows.

Understanding Waffles -- WHAT?!?!

Recently, I have heard some comments and observed some actions which were in response to something I either did or said. However, because these responses didn't seem to be logical responses to what I said or did, I find myself tilting my head, squinting my eyes, and emphatically asking: WHAT?!?! I am left feeling bewildered and distracted as I try to understand how these people got from what I said or did to their response.

I have been wasting my mental energy for several weeks trying to figure out where their response came from because the response just doesn't make sense. It's as if I said "2+2" and received the answer "waffles." The response is so baffling to me and yet it somehow makes perfect sense to the respondents. What am I missing? Something is being added between "2+2" and "waffles" that I am missing. Where is it coming from and why? I am confused and distracted by the anger and/or hurt feelings of others because of their "waffles," when all I thinking was "4."

WHAT?!?!

I am sure God sometimes looks at our responses (or lack of responses) to His words and actions and He wonders: WHAT?!?! He must scratch or shake His head when we respond to Him with waffles. How sick and tired He must get sometimes with our faithless waffling. I wonder if God sometimes asks about me what He asked about Israel to Moses in Numbers 14:11:

"How long will this people provoke, spurn, and despise Me? And how long will it
be before they believe Me, trusting in, relying on, and clinging to Me, for all
the signs which I have performed among them?" (Amplified)

I am thankfully hopeful that my Advocate, Jesus Christ, is willing to intercede on my behalf and say to the Father what He said on the cross, "Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34 NIV).

May I give God the response He deserves in my worship and my service, in my love for Him and my love for others. And may the only time God gets waffles is when He expects waffles.