{"id":28463,"date":"2022-04-29T11:38:21","date_gmt":"2022-04-29T17:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/?p=28463"},"modified":"2024-05-14T15:29:01","modified_gmt":"2024-05-14T21:29:01","slug":"why-get-off-the-couch-and-go-to-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/why-get-off-the-couch-and-go-to-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Get Off the Couch and Go to Church?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a pastor who found it necessary to call a congregation back to church in person after doing church online, I realized that it wasn\u2019t enough to simply say \u201cWe\u2019re open, you can come back now.\u201d I realized it was going to be essential to answer the question, \u201cWhy?\u201d \u201cWhy should I get off my comfortable couch, dress up, drive over, and do the same thing in a pew instead?\u201d<\/p>\n

[bctt tweet=”Why should I get off my comfortable couch? \u2013 Loren Gjesdal” via=”no”]<\/p>\n

The Biblical answer is simple and clear:\u00a0 because you\u2019re needed here!<\/p>\n

God\u2019s plan is for every member<\/em> to be a minister. The Reformers called God\u2019s plan the \u201cPriesthood of All Believers.\u201d In this plan everyone is important; no one should feel responsible to do everything; and we are entirely interdependent.<\/p>\n

For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function,\u00a0so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. (Romans 12:4-5)<\/p>\n

The Responsibility of Every Member<\/strong><\/h3>\n

At home I can be independent. I can do what blesses me. I can browse the available church services until I find something that meets my needs. I can soak up another\u2019s labor without offering my own. In God\u2019s plan I\u2019m responsible to offer my service for your benefit:<\/p>\n

do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.\u00a0 (Philippians 2:4)<\/p>\n

If each of us is going to benefit each other effectively, we are going to need to know each other. We are going to need to have relationships. We will need proximity to provide opportunity for the interactions necessary to build beneficial relationships:<\/p>\n

and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,\u00a0not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.\u00a0(Hebrews 10:24-25)<\/p>\n

How Do We Stop the Burnout\/Drop Out Pandemic?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Surveys and poll results continue to warn the American church that pastors are burning out and church members are dropping out. How do we stop the burnout\/drop out pandemic? Not by competing with the programming of big churches. This just feeds the consumer mentality underlying \u201ceasy-leavism.\u201d<\/p>\n

The solution can be found in the yet unfinished business of the Reformation, the \u201cPriesthood of all Believers.\u201d The solution is not a call to fill a pew, to fulfill some sense of guilt-based obligation, but rather the solution is a clear call to missional purpose and engagement!<\/p>\n

The invitation should be to join in the building of the kingdom of God in the Earth<\/a>, not to merely fill a building with bodies. My reminder to each reader is that the wise plan of God is to build His temple out of living stones, not couch potatoes:<\/p>\n

you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.\u00a0(1 Peter 2:5)<\/p>\n

Every Member is a Leader<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In God\u2019s new covenant temple, every living stone, every member<\/a> is to be a minister of the gospel of the Kingdom of God:<\/p>\n

But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;\u00a0(1 Peter 2:9)<\/p>\n

It is the challenge of leaders<\/a> (whether holding an office or not, as leadership is about influence not titles) to help the church become what God ordained it to be. In other words, leaders must help the church to always be in a process of moving from what is, to what ought to be.<\/p>\n

Are You Off the Couch Yet?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Are you off the couch yet? Are you wondering what your missional purpose is? Are you ready to be a part of calling the Church of God to be part of a \u201cPriesthood of All Believers\u201d?<\/p>\n

[bctt tweet=”Are you wondering what your missional purpose is? \u2013 Loren Gjesdal” via=”no”]<\/p>\n

Artios is here to help! Register now for the Essentials of Vibrant Leadership<\/em> class. Learn more about the unfinished business of the reformation and God\u2019s call to ministry<\/a> for every believer at Artios Christian College in the link below. Check out resources available for you and your church at The Center for Vibrant Leadership in the link below.<\/p>\n

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