Schedule

When I come back home to Wisconsin, I have a lot of different things to do. I would rather not do many of those things but I know I should, so, I make a schedule to hold myself to accomplishing them.

This past week, a friend at our ministry group mentioned that schedules only exist for the things that need to happen. He said that the things we enjoy tend to happen naturally. We find time for things we enjoy without scheduling them. He even wondered if maybe that is why "church" is always on Sunday morning- so we can keep in our schedule.

I think he is right. "Church" has become something we do, or go to, on Sunday mornings. It fits into our schedules. We have to remember to do it. It isn't something that happens naturally.

Why must we schedule church? Why isn't church happening naturally?

We seldom do something other than "church" on Sunday mornings because we realize that church is something we need. We need the fulfillment, fellowship, and growth that we receive at church services. We would feel a tinge of guilt if we miss the only opportunity for that. We have scheduled church for Sunday mornings and, because of that, it never really happens any other time.

When I come back to Wisconsin, I have lots of things to do. I schedule the necessary things but something else always happens. Somehow, naturally, I end up hanging out with my friend Tim. Tim and I talk about what God is teaching us, sometimes we read scripture or pray together. Isn't that church too?

Do we care enough to take church out of the schedule and let it happen throughout the week? If so, we need to pursue God more emphatically. We need fellowship and accountability- that is why the collective body of believers is the church, not some building or thing we do on Sunday mornings.