CONNECT ION? CONNECTION!

It's 7:00 a.m.!!! We're up. As a matter of fact, we've been up. My wife is "connected" with the heritage of the past this time of year and that means you don't throw vegetables away when they are in abundance -- YOU PUT THEM IN A JAR! So, we were turning the first pot of water on at 6:00 AM to salvage and save those tomatoes! I might be a bit grumpy about "doin' the maters" this mornin', but when the soup's hot and the soup's good in December......no complainin' from this ole boy! "Mmm mmm good....Mmm mmm good.... Joy's homemade soup is Mmm mmm good!" Eat you heart out Campbells! You're sodium filled and sooo predictable!

As we're up and at it in the kitchen tryin' to hit the early task of tomatoes, we both grab laptops with an attempt to communicate to those we need to for the important matters of the day. I'm connected...off an runnng. You know the deal FB, twitter, bloggin', emails, readin' the news to find out that the "Liberal Lion" Ted Kennedy passed away, checkin' the weather, and all that stuff. Joy, the master of that soup we were just smellin' in our head, makes a little noise that seems to express frustration -- "Uuuh!"

"What's wrong baby?" I asked. "I'm not connected!" she replies.

My bloggers block ended. My how important it is to stay connected. I mentioned a little of that last night in the Wednesday night service. That's the service that 10% of the congregation manages to work in their busy evening schedule. Let's pause for a commercial .........

"THANK YOU TO ALL THE FAITHFUL CONNECTORS WHO CONNECT WITH US ON WEDNESDAYS!"

Okay...back to the story. Man...it's so important. Because on Wednesday nights, the tiny one's are in BabiZONE, the smaller kids are in KIDZONE, the youth are in YZONE, and the rest of us aged believers are in the sanctuary......connecting through a season of worship music and a message from the BIBLE. You know, that manual for success in life......eternally. : )

And it's so fun to see people connect. Like a puzzle....the more peices you get into the right place, the easier it is to see what this thing is supposed to look like.

Romans 12:4-5 reminds us ....Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Man, we are one beautiful puzzle that God designed and desires. And when you are not connected to the body that you say you're connected to, it's like we're missin' something that makes us what we're supposed to be.

And don't you remember when you got that puzzle almost completed only to find that isolated peice that fell on the floor. You went after it, picked it up, and placed it in to make the thing whole. So....if you're reading this blog of mine.....and you are "on the floor" when it comes to the house of God that you call home, please....for your sake and ours.....help us get this puzzle complete.

"Ohhhhhhh man! The tomatoes.....the tomatoes.......JOY! JOY! Your tomatoes!"

"Wow...that was close." If I had messed up that batch of "maters" I could have been disconnected. That would not be good.

Connection....it's wonderful. Let the rest of that puzzle see you this Sunday....and Wednesday at your house of worship. Ohh...one more thing.....I did get her laptop connected. : )

Me....apathetic?

I received an interesting email from a friend this past week. He had ministered at our church just a couple of weeks ago and, as always, I had tossed that ultimate question out to him as I do all the guests that come our way -- "What do you see in ministry as you travel this country and move from church to church?"



His answer was the same one that has come to me from mosts in these last several months. He said, "As I travel, I am finding a common thread for the apathy that has set into the church, but not all are getting proactive."

Man, this is so disappointing! But, as a senior leader of a ministry, I would have to agree with my friend. It caused me to take a look at the term "apathy" to better understand what we were experiencing. What is apathy?

As you look into the etymology of this term you find that it dates back to 1594; the 16th Century. It comes from the Greek language. The word is "apatheia". It's a term that has two parts -- "a" and "pathos" -- "a" meaning "no" and "pathos" meaning "emotion". Therefore, we conclude that it means "no emotion". A synonymn would be "impassiveness," or "to have no feeling, or "indifference" which means "to lack interest or concern."

Are you "apathetic" in your spiritual walk? Does this sound like something you are experiencing when it comes to the idea of a regular and frequent time of worship in your local church and its ministries? I hope not. But it seems to be the norm throughout the church world today. Sadly, many are disengaged from spiritual life collectively. The Scriptures teach us in Hebrews that we are "not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together."

God wants you connected! Connected? Oh yes! And Scripture bears out a model that Jesus has for the church; those persons who make up the body of Christ. This "Jesus model" is taught in the two biblical "greats" recorded in Matthew's gospel (Mt. 22:34-40; 28:18-20).

What is that model? Will it assure a connectedness to all the God has for me as a believer? Most certainly! Here it is ....

1) WORSHIP - Jesus said, "Love with all your heart...". When we do this in every area of our life, we live a lifestyle of worship.)

2) FELLOWSHIP - Jesus said, "Go and make disciples...". This is a relational experience. You can win people to Jesus when you have a relationship with them. It continues and grows when they are also saved.

3) DISCIPLESHIP - Jesus said, "...teaching them to obey everything I have commanded them..". This teaching continually nurtures and equips believers; it's lifelong.

4) SERVICE - Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as yourself." That's ministry right outside your door. Not to mention the many areas that you are needed in your local church.

5) EVANGELISM - Jesus said, "...baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit...". You don't baptize until salvation is experienced. And salvation doesn't come until some form of "evangelism" has taken place.

This model keeps the believer active in their faith and their walk with God. And it has perpetual benefit; ongoing! It will assure connectedness and keep you from apathy?

Me...apathetic? You answer that.......with your life. : )