Sabbath in Minnesota

Jul 20th 2008

Back to catch up on the last few weeks of my sabbatical journey tomorrow… Today is sabbath in Minnesota. The Nold family, minus Sarah, but plus Jenna (Katy’s friend and about as close a part of the family as you can get without being adopted) spent last week in Minnesota at a cabin on a lake. Had a great time — more on that later — but they left me last night and headed back to PA. I’m here for another 12 days, time for some sabbatical solitude. Eaglebrook

So today, I went to a worship gathering at one of our conference churches called Eaglebrook. Reminded me a little of Calvary, except a whole lot bigger. Great music, strong emphasis on small group connections, and in the process of going multi-site.

A couple of thoughts occurred to me as I sat there. #1) I like preaching to larger gatherings. #2) The larger the gathering the more diligently we have to work to keep our Christianity from becoming a spectator sport. #3) Christianity is boring when it becomes a spectator sport. #4) Experiential information is not enough to fuel a movement. So I guess my question is… where am I practicing my faith? Where are we playing the game? What are you going to do tomorrow as a result of the fact that you are following Jesus today?

Oh yeah, it was a great message — out of the book of Hebrews — Jesus is our high priest so we can boldly approach the presence of God. Can’t do that one sitting in the stands!