Attention

Written by cycleguy on September 5th, 2013

identity-1_600w

Two or three letter combinations are all the rage these days.  Seems like everywhere I turn these letter combinations make an appearance.   I am not knocking them or making light of them.  I’m just saying they show up a lot.  What are they?

ADD

ADHD

Attention Deficit Disorder

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

My purpose is not to diagnose or treat either here.  I’ll let the “experts” do that.  The word that I want to focus on is ATTENTION.   It is no secret the church is divided.  I’m not talking about  the denominational differences.  I’m talking about the local church and its focus.  Some focus on Worship (music).  Some focus on helping the poor.  Some focus on Bible study. Some focus on Small Groups. Some focus on preaching.  The list goes on and on.  Tragically, so many churches are so divided they really don’t know who they are or who they are trying to reach.  So they end up floundering and reaching no one.

I think, and since I am not an expert I can be challenged, one of the biggest things a church needs to do first is figure out who they are. They need an identity, something that sets them apart from other organizations.  My goal over the next four weeks of sermons is to take one chapter of Colossians a week and probe that question: who are we?

Ronald Reagan is credited with saying:

It is amazing how far a company or organization can go if no one cares who gets the credit.

It is sad the church is not much different in some areas as corporate America: some people crave credit and back slaps for something they do.  I like what Proverbs 27:2 says: “Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth, a stranger and not your own lips.”  Wise advice!  I think a lot of it comes from motive-who do we want to get the attention?  There is no doubt in my mind the attention should not be focused on me or any other human that’s for sure.  Definitely not me!  This Sunday I plan to study Colossians 1 and see our focus should be on God’s work [verses 9-14] found in Paul’s prayer; and ultimately we need to focus on Jesus [15-20].  I like what D.L.Moody once said: “I am going to make Jesus so attractive that men will turn to Him.”

There is more to say about this but I will save it for another time.  (No comments please) 🙂  I would really appreciate your prayers for me this weekend.

How focused is your church?  Do you think it has trouble with attention? Is it divided or is your leadership doing a pretty good job of keeping the attention where it belongs? 

Oh yeah! Dan is back with this banner.  Thanks Dan.

 

15 Comments so far ↓

  1. Susan says:

    My church is large, but we tend to pull together. There are always a few outliers, but overall the people are caring about other members as well as the town our church is in.

    I will be praying that your words are the words of Christ for those who hear, and that the Holy Spirit will work in the service.

  2. Daniel says:

    My current church is led my a man who is very humble, very forthright, and very much an example of someone who practices what he preaches. A man who burns with passion for his Lord and savior and yearns more than anything to have us get to know Him and love Him just as he does. He has shown remarkable focus that has me quite impressed. I am lucky that I can also call him a friend. I will be praying for you in my morning devotionals.

  3. the Old Adam says:

    We are a real mixed bag (the church).

    And even the focused ones are a mixed bag, as well.

    But the Lord uses all of it…even our sin, for His purposes.

  4. Caleb Suko says:

    Great reminder Bill. I think this is something that our ministries can easily drift away from.

    last night our youth group invited the leaders of all our ministries to come and present the ministry to the youth. The youth will then pray about it for a week and then they will find a ministry to be involved in.

    We have 9 ministry departments in our church and each department has one main goal; fulfill the Great Commission! We feel like this helps us stay focused on what we need to focus on.

    • cycleguy says:

      I love what the youth group did and is going to do. That is fantastic! Making sure they all point to the one main goal is so essential and the key to “success.”

  5. Dan Erickson says:

    I like to think the church I attend focuses on Christ, but there are always politics within the church, too. WE just changed from Presbyterian to Evangelical.

  6. floyd says:

    Our church is pretty specific about our calling, but I think this can apply for each of us in our lives and calling from God. I’m praying for you and the church, Bill.

  7. Ours does a good job keeping everything rooted in Christ

  8. How many kids with ADD does it take to change a light bulb?
    Ah, who cares! Let’s go ride bikes!