The Inconvenience of Love

We hear the grumbles.

“I want my usual worship time; 10 o’clock is hard to remember.”
“I want to be heading home by that time.”
“I want to be finishing breakfast at that time.”
“I want to be in my Sunday School class.”
“I want our kids to be in Sunday School.”

What two words are common to these statements?  Exactly.

What if, instead of grumbles, we were to hear: 

“One 10 o’clock service?  I want to see people I don’t get to see!”
“I want to hear our combined choir.”
“I want to wear casual clothes to church.”
“I want to work on a mission project with my Sunday School class.”
“I want to work with my kids on a mission project for others.”

Eleven days before Thanksgiving, we gather for worship as the one body of Christ to be the body of Christ to the world near and far. Or, as I have also heard said, “Mission is not what we do; it’s who we are.” Twice a year, Mission Together imposes on our rhythms; it feels like an inconvenience. But it really is the inconvenience of love.

With you in Christ,

Matt Gaston
Lead Pastor