To say that I am a busy man at church as a layman would be an understatement. I have a passion for doing things right and giving 100%. If someone needed my help with something and I agreed to help, I am all in.
That’s how I view my Christianity. When I decided to follow Jesus I knew that I would give Him my all. I asked my wife (then girlfriend) as I started to change internally from spending time with God: “I know you fell in love with the guy I was, a rebellious man and a punk. But I feel like I am changing… are you going to love me for the man I am going to be?” Of course she said yes.
Ever since I decided to follow Jesus, I knew that He required me to be part of the body of Christ. It is an essential part of being a Christian. One who says they are a Christian and does not need to be part of the church in mission, mindset, and gathering is not paying attention to His Word. “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-26. “so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” Romans 12:5. Also read 1 Corinthians 12.
I see many people who come to church and suck everything in. They leave and that’s it. They don’t involve themselves in the church work and leave it to the pastors and the few laborers that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 9:37. They really are consumers of fruit and not producers of fruit. I NEVER want to be that way.
I always think about what I can do to help the church complete His mission. I am a problem solver by nature and if I don’t know how to do something, I will figure it out. Combining that with a tendency to say yes to people when they need help with something has created a very busy situation for me. As soon as I come into church, there are 1-2 people ready to ask me something. And when I go home, I get feeling a little lonely because those same people don’t really communicate with me outside the church unless they need something. And that affected me in the way I treated them in my heart and in my mind. They and I deserve a better Kevin.
While I have been consumed with helping the body of Christ, I have been neglecting this body for Christ. While I have been united in the body of Christ, I have been divided in my own spiritual walk. Many days I find myself too tired to open God’s Word and neglect my prayer time. And the times I am ready for it is when I am ready for bed.
Some people burn out because they don’t recognize this. Me? I am always critiquing my intentions and my mindset and so being able to recognize this as a problem, I knew of only one solution: Take a sabbatical from church and get back on the right track. The church can run without me. I don’t have to fix anything. God’s got this. Does He need me? Yes. Can He move the church forward without me? Yes.
Finally, my Sabbaths have been restful days. No worries. Were there thoughts about things at church? Of course, but I tried to suppress them whenever they came up. I spent a lot of time watching the Gods at War small group DVD series by Kyle Idleman and also reading the book. I don’t want things to become gods and idols in my life that take me away from the true God. Sometimes that could be church work, as it is in my case.
I love the church so much because it is where I started to fall in love with Jesus. I guess that is why I feel so dedicated to it, in addition to my responsibility as a Christian.
My hope is that I become more missional about what I do for God. There are many things I want to do for the youth in addition to what I already do. I want to apply my 100% towards what God has commissioned me to do. The other things at church can now be secondary.
There are many people that are involved in the work at my church. My hope is that more people step up to the plate and do something. I hear “My family is my mission field.” I get that and believe that to be true, but if you are teaching them by your non-participation in the church work that church is not important, don’t blame the church if your child leaves it later in life. Show them that being part of the body of Christ is being connected with the work of His church. And when you are connected with the church and part of its body, then the fields that are ready for harvest will have more laborers to harvest it. I heard once that God only brings the amount of people into the church that the church can handle. Imagine what it would look like if we were all working and harvesting the fields.
I am not where I want to be, spiritually (are we ever there?), as my month-long sabbatical from church comes to a close. But I am ready to start this process of removing myself from things that take away from my personal walk in Jesus. Will I continue to be involved in church life? Yes. But I believe I now have the capacity and foresight to say no to things that other people can do.
SpinKRun
May 17, 2014
There is great power in ‘No’ because it gives you the ability to say ‘Yes’ to the right things. God loves your passion, Kevin and your fellow church members do, too. 😉
Kev
May 17, 2014
Thanks… Kim? 😀
clf
May 17, 2014
No is good…Last week someone said to me, ” You used to do so much here.”
Kev
May 17, 2014
Well, no is good is you are overworked. No is not good if you are not doing anything, of course.
Tina
May 17, 2014
While I agree with & understand everything you’ve written about yourself I find you a bit judgemental of others in the church. We attended your church for a while & anytime there was a call for help and I contacted to help I was always told they already had the people they needed! Many blessing on your sabbatical.
Kev
May 17, 2014
Hey Tina. Thanks for your comment. I did mention that many people are involved in our church. It’s odd I guess that whatever you always called about gets filled all the time. I would be willing to bet the help is nothing in the areas that I am in, which are graphic design projects, audio/visual, IT and technology projects, get me this, get me that, fix this, fix that, etc. I do see areas of help that are not being done. Maybe the church could do a better job of awareness of all the things needed by people and the church. Typically, I am referring to ongoing ministry areas. I hope that clears things for you in how you think I am judgmental.
Kev
May 29, 2014
Good thoughts Carol. Politics in church can be tough, but our eyes must see Jesus first. When we are focused on Him, the politics will be brushed aside in our minds. Jesus said that the wheat and the tares will grow together till the end and then He will separate them. So we just have to have that mindset.
The best reason to be involved in church life is because Jesus is the Cornerstone and we are His builders.
C.H.
May 29, 2014
🙂 I’m afraid my comment may have seemed “confrontational”. I certainly did not intend that and I appreciate your kind response. I basically just meant to say that we are all at different places in our journey and we are humans with very real human strengths, weaknesses, anxieties, etc. Hopefully, we are all on the same journey to the same destination. I hope that makes sense, as I am not the most articulate person.
I hope you find your sabbatical refreshing to your soul. God bless.
Kev
May 29, 2014
I didn’t find it confrontational at all! It’s all in your mind! 😀 My sabbatical was good… and it is now over. I have refocused some things. I was just way too busy, so much so that I had no room for my personal reflection upon Christ.
Nick Decker
Mar 27, 2015
Hey Mr. Kevin I enjoy your thoughts. Quite a lot to think about here. Thanks.
Kevin Watson
Oh, and I do graphic design, online and social media marketing, SEO/SEM, and Google Analytics.
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