Well, it’s been awhile…..holidays and all, but the ideas and the questions still remain. Certain writers of the Bible wore different hats….some were followers, leaders, disciples, and pastors. As one can realize, most of us are exactly the same…..as in we wear, or have worn, different Bible Hats! We were, in our youth, blind followers…whatever Mom and Dad did, so did we. As we grew, whatever church had the most kids in the youth group….was the church of choice. We were not at the point of arguments over beliefs, attitudes, and church law, at age 15 or even 20. But somewhere, in our twenties, although we weren’t really ‘in’ to church, we began to see there was a difference…..

Our church was ‘a lot like’ all the others one may say. Maybe they had communion once a week, once a month, or on special occasions, but it ‘sounded’ pretty much the same. And really, ‘who cared’? We entered into deep conversations in high school and college, and the words liberal and conservative came into play. If one lived in a small town in the Ohio Valley (like me), not a lot of discussion erupted about ‘flower children’, San Francisco and pot, runaways, etc….unless it had to do with music. The 50’s/60’s kids worried about beer, cigarettes, and getting pregnant…that was the gossip that stirred up neighborhoods, and broke up families. In other words, unless there was a family catastrophe, we all pretty much went with the flow…

Well, here comes adulthood…..here comes marriage, kids, near family, far family, and other opinionated people……And that, my friends is how all this mess about ‘who do we serve’ began. Same God, same Bible, same teachings, same churches, same neighborhood, even same problems. However, now WE knew how to deal.
We were the leaders, we made the decisions in our family, neighborhood, town, and church, according to how much we wanted to participate. And we kind of put God on the backburner. He was there, we remembered all the verses, etc. but what about the laws, the rules, the ‘being disciples’? “I’m doing my job”, you’d say…”I serve on the board, I teach a class, I pick up the ones that need a ride, I sing in the choir, I’m a leader…..” But as the pastors, the leaders, the new disciples of the first century would ask…..how ya do’in?

You see, that’s what they were asking the churches they had just founded….Everything looked good in the beginning…..the idea was good, (Christianity), no one really cared (other beliefs), and the pastors were dynamic in their preaching. But when the excitement wore off and the daily grind became the norm….those who had made promises to carry on the teaching, kind of ….. well, let things slide. It was just a lot of extra trouble….being right with the church all the time. The other beliefs seemed to just be easier…they were ‘used to the other ways’…. and who wanted trouble in the ‘hood’.

Things haven’t changed much…..sometimes being a Christian is ‘just a lot of trouble’……Well, guess who is still around…waiting….waiting, year after year, century after century, waiting for the opportunity only you can give….God. He didn’t walk when you did, He’s still waiting patiently. He said he would, and his promise hasn’t changed….even when he was a youngster, a teenager, and an adult. Who are you serving today…..is the door still open?