An exciting service today here in Farmersville has had me thinking about how to have exciting churches. Two things come to mind...
- Crowds
- Changed Lives
"I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth." ~ 1 Timothy 3:14–15 (ESV)
A crowd on Sunday may be exciting but "being there" should never overshadow "behaving there".
The most exciting churches are those that witness changed lives and celebrate those lives on Sundays. If we focus on crowds rather than changed lives our churches become chaotic. The excitement of a crowd can be achieved any number of ways, the excitement of changed lives can only be achieved One Way...
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17
- A crowd, while exciting, doesn't neccesarily produce a changed live. Jesus does!
- A changed life, on the other hand, has a tendency to attract a crowd...to Jesus!
