Why Your Church Matters

And so it's great to be here. I had a chance to hang out with the guys last night.

Sean and Ed and Todd just talking about eldership, talking about what does it mean to build a pastoral team.

Again, I've been in my church for 40 years. It started as a church plant.

40 years ago, I was recently married.

About a few months after my wife and I got married, we were looking for a church.

We found this church that had only started the week before.

So it had been planted, and then we came the second week at the church.

And we thought, hey, this is a good place. Let's don't leave.

And so we never did.

So my four kids were all raised in the church.

Nine of my 17 grandkids are in the church now.

And so I just had a chance last month to baptize my oldest granddaughter.

And so I've had this life in this church, and it's given me a passion for this text and this message.

And so we're going to jump in.

We're in Psalm 84.

I'd like for you to stand as we read God's Word.

And then we'll just exposit it in our time together.

Psalm 84.

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!

My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord.

My heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home in the swallow and nest for herself,

where she may lay her young at your altars, O Lord of hosts.

My King and my God.

Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever seeing your praise.

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

As they go through the valley of Baccah,

they make it a place of springs,

and the early rain covers it with pools.

They go from strength to strength.

Each one appears before God in Zion.

O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer.

Give ear, O God of Jacob.

Behold our shield, O God.

Look on the face of your anointed.

For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

For the Lord is a sun and a shield.

The Lord bestows favor and honor.

No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

O Lord of hosts,

blessed is the one who trusts in you.

Lord, bless the preaching of your word.

This limited vessel that you have put before these people,

I pray that you would minister through me

and to me as we gather to hear and consider

what you have to say to us this morning through your word.

We ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

So I grew up in the Lutheran church.

Small church outside of Atlanta.

And Lutheran church would be a church where there's pews

and then there's a raised sort of area there called the chancel

and then an altar at the end of that.

And so the altar against the wall.

So it's kind of coming from the Catholic tradition.

So there's the focus would be on the altar.

And so as a kid looking at it, it was not an ornate church,

but I did find a certain amount of wonder there.

The woodwork, the things, I just felt like there's no place like it.

So I used to love and go and sit in church

and just imagine things about the building.

And one of the things I began to notice is

between the chancel and the altar,

there was another platform you stepped up on

and then there was some space to the altar

and there was a rail around that space.

And it mostly stayed closed, so there's a whole rail around it.

The only time it ever was opened is for communion

when the center would be moved aside

and the pastor would be able to walk up to the altar for communion.

So sitting there, I'm seven, eight years old with an imagination,

I started to think, I think the reason that rail is there

is because on the other side of that rail

is a hole that leads straight to hell.

And so to me, going to church was fascinating

because I felt like, is somebody going to fall in today?

My idea was you needed that rail

because if you didn't have that rail,

you could just be walking around up there

and actually tip over into hell and it's all over.

And so the rail was there set up

to keep us from falling into hell in the middle of church.

And then the pastor though,

and he would stand up there

and he would stand in front of this space

when they opened it up

and he would do this.

And I kind of imagined him kind of like a hockey goalie,

kind of protecting people.

He was sort of a lifeguard, right?

He just kind of, he was there to make sure,

he was ready to move

in case anybody accidentally walked up

and started to fall in.

He would grab him and send him back.

So the role of the pastor was primarily

to physically keep people from falling into hell.

So it was a place of wonder for me.

And I love going and speculating

about what it might be like to fall into hell.

And so one day I got the courage up after a service

to go up to look down into that hole.

And I walked up and I was, you know,

of course you're not supposed to be up there for your kid,

but I got up there and I'm walking up

and I go up and I peer over this rail

and all I see is just parquet floor.

You know, and I have to admit

I was a bit disappointed.

And actually, I won't say that was the reason

I was turned off from church.

But there was something in me that said

this really isn't that special a place.

It's just a building.

It's just a place people go.

And I was a jaded seven-year-old

or eight-year-old when it came to church.

It just became where my parents took me

until I got old enough not to go.

My goal today is to stir in your hearts

a love for the church,

which is awkward because you're sitting in church already.

So I'm kind of preaching literally to the choir.

But I can think we can have experiences

like I had as a kid

where we see that the church

isn't all we thought it would be

when we came or when we started going to church.

My church, where I've been for 40 years

and where I raised my family,

is not a place of continual wonder.

I'm always discovering parquet floor

where I thought wonder should be.

We can be pretty mundane.

It can feel like a place of problems.

Church promises amazing things

but sometimes delivers parquet floors.

Psalm 84 is written about an Old Testament worshiper

anticipating amazing things

on the way, really, to church.

But that's not without reason.

When people gathered at the temple,

which is the reference of this text,

that's where he's headed,

God met with them.

It wasn't just the place of God.

It wasn't just representative God.

It was the presence of God that they sought.

We who live on this side of the resurrection

who are partakers of the new covenant,

who have the presence of God within us

through the indwelling Holy Spirit,

and who have had our sins permanently atoned for

by the blood of Jesus Christ,

we don't take literal journeys

to a literal temple.

We ourselves are the temple

when we gather together.

The Apostle Peter makes this point.

1 Peter 2, he says,

As you come to him,

a living stone rejected by men

in the sight of God,

chosen and precious.

You yourselves, like living stones,

are being built up as a spiritual house

to be a holy priesthood,

to offer spiritual sacrifices

acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Peter is stirring in New Testament believers

the heartbeat of Psalm 84.

We should anticipate amazing things

when we gather as God's spiritual house.

Our spiritual journey in Christ

is not just a private thing.

And friends, you are probably aware

everybody seems to be on some spiritual journey

these days.

And many of those people profess the name of Christ,

but they primarily view their relationship

with Christ as an individual thing,

as an internal thing,

as a quiet, reverential thing,

or as a pilgrimage of sorts,

but it's private pilgrimage.

The Bible doesn't teach us that.

The New Testament teaches us,

Peter teaches us,

that we all are the spiritual house

where personal spiritual journeys find meaning.

My basic point is simply this.

Your spiritual journey needs the church.

And I have three points coming out of that

from the text.

There's no better place to call home

than the church.

I'm basically making the argument.

There's no better place to call home

than the church.

Number two,

there's no better place

to make a difference

than the church.

And number three,

there's no better place

to prepare for eternity

than the church.

So our first point,

there's no better place

to call home

than the church.

Let's go back to verse 1

through verse 4.

Verse 4.

Now to get this psalm,

you need to put yourself

in the mindset

of an Israelite of old,

living out in some village

in the countryside.

There's no church,

as we know it.

There's no Bible study.

There's no worship service.

The things that build your faith

happen somewhere else.

In Jerusalem,

more specifically,

at the temple of Jerusalem.

If we transport this

to current thinking,

imagine being in a small town

in the middle of New Hampshire.

You want to be a good Christian,

but you don't have any

functional access to God

in your town.

No way to offer prayers.

No way to hear the Word.

God isn't going to meet you there.

You have to go to Boston.

That's where God meets with people.

You can be a good Jew,

a good follower in your village,

but you can only meet with God

in Jerusalem.

So you plan and you save

and you prepare

for a pilgrimage to the temple.

It's at the temple

where you get access to God.

It's at the temple

where you receive the peace of God.

It's at the temple

where you can experience God Himself.

It's at God's house

where you feel truly at home.

So the psalmist begins

with his longing.

How lovely is your dwelling place.

My soul longs,

yes,

faints,

for the courts of the Lord.

This is serious longing.

The King James Version says,

my heart and flesh cry out.

One commentator translates it,

my whole being craved,

yes,

exhausted itself

for Yahweh's courtyards.

What is he craving?

The temple?

Stone building?

No,

he loves the temple,

but he loves it

because it's the dwelling place

of the living God.

It's the temple

where God promises

to meet with people,

with poor,

guilty sinners,

to extend His mercy

and awaken joy in them.

That's what the pilgrim

longs for.

Not a good seat at the show,

not an experience

to add to his Instagram,

not to fulfill

a religious responsibility.

We don't know much

about the psalmist.

He's a son of Korah,

which means his life

was devoted to worship,

but he's in a place

where apparently

he can't fill out

what he believes

is his primary purpose.

He needs to go

to Jerusalem,

to the temple.

What we do know

is that the one thing

he most wanted

was to meet with God

and he had to find

his way to God

to do that.

But friends,

we are so different.

The God we meet

has come to us,

has left Boston,

and come to New Hampshire,

has sought us out.

In Christ,

God ended the temple

worship system forever.

He broke out

from the confines

of temple

to the world

in Jesus.

John says this

in the first chapter

of his gospel,

the word of God

became flesh

and dwelt among us.

And you probably know

that word dwelt

is a corresponding

Greek word

for the same

Hebrew concept

that's in verse 1

of this song.

How lovely

is your dwelling place.

Literally,

he templed,

he tabernacled

with us.

And because of

the Holy Spirit,

the tabernacle

of God

now dwells

with us

and in us

as the people

of God.

We are

the temple

of God

because

he dwells

within us.

When we gather

together,

we set up

in essentially

the tent

of God

wherever we are.

I had a chance

to be Friday night

with one of the

small groups here.

And,

you know,

they're just

eating dinner

and chatting

and talking,

but you're aware

in that moment

that up and down

this street,

people are meeting

and gathering

and talking.

But the temple

of God

is here

because the people

are gathered

in Jesus' name.

Wherever you meet,

that's why you want

to be in

your CGs

because it's a chance

in the middle

of the week

to express

that tabernacle

experience

with one another.

God's presence

is God's presence.

We've seen that.

But there's

something else

as well.

Verse 3

helps us see

why we need

this dwelling

place of God.

You see,

the dwelling

place of God

isn't just

a great place.

It's also

the safe place

for us.

It's the place

of safety.

Look at verse 3.

Even the sparrow

finds a home

and the swallow

a nest

for herself

where she may

lay her young

at your altars,

O Lord of hosts.

So small birds

make their nests

near the altar.

What does that mean?

We've got to call

the exterminator.

We've got to fire

the custodian.

We've got to turn it

into a bird sanctuary.

What does that mean?

No, the metaphor

here is one of

safety and protection.

Remember Jesus'

words from the

Sermon on the Mount.

Look at the birds

of the air.

They neither sow

nor reap

nor gather in barns

and yet your

heavenly Father

feeds them.

Are you not

of more value

than they?

Now we have to

understand this

verse

in the context

of the world

around the Jews.

It's good to keep

in mind the altars

of other religions

during the psalmist's

time.

These were altars

where children

were sacrificed

to appease

the anger

of tribal gods.

They're altars

where slaves

were forced

to perform

abominable acts

to satisfy

the lusts

of God.

yet the place

where the Lord

of hosts

dwells

even the

holy altar

that no one

can approach

out of fear

of death

without atonement

for their sin

is a nesting

place

for the small

and the weak.

If the temple

can be a home

for pigeons

is what

the point of that

that it can be

a home

for pilgrims

as well.

If the church

can be a home

for pigeons

it can be a home

for pilgrims

as well.

In college

I was a Marxist.

I was an atheist

Marxist.

That was my degree.

That's what I studied.

And about

two and a half

months before

I graduated

I was radically

unexpectedly

converted

to Christ.

And this was

down in

North Carolina

where I went

to college.

And my first

experience

going to a

church

as a

new believer

was at

Fort Bragg,

North Carolina.

A church

that had been

started

and was run

by

army

paratrooper

rangers.

It was just

full of

military.

Literally

a week

before

I had been

talking about

I had been

railing on

America

as a

military state.

The next

week I

find myself

surrounded by

military

in a church.

And at that

point my

appearance

hadn't changed

all that much.

I did not

look like I

fit in.

I clearly

didn't fit in.

I didn't know

how to relate.

These people

around me

they're all

jarheadish.

and they

were all

very fit

which is

a big thing.

And they

just seemed

it was just

intimidating to

me.

And then we

started to sing

and I realized

they're singing

with a passion.

They're weeping

as they're

singing.

And I

started to

realize

I'm nothing

like these

guys.

But I think

I fit

more here

than I do

anywhere else

I've ever

been.

I graduated

went back

home to

Atlanta

looked for

a church

found one

out east

of Atlanta

out in the

sticks

and it

was a rural

church.

It was good

sort of a

charismatic

Baptist split.

I was neither

charismatic or

Baptist at the

time.

But I went

and I just

found this is a

crazy place.

None of these

people

I have been

studying marks

for the last

three years.

None of these

people have

ever gone to

college.

I don't know

what to say

to them.

I don't know

how to relate

to them.

When they

would tithe

they would

literally have

a table up

front and

people would

put vegetables

there.

First fruits

were really

the first

fruits of

their gardens.

And I

don't have

anything.

I'm not like

any of these

people here.

But yet again

I had this

experience.

I'm nothing

like anybody

here.

But this

feels more

like home

than any

place else

I go.

We are

in a

culture

that insists

that my

individuality

is affirmed

in its

entirety

the way

I want

it affirmed.

And for

us to

have

relationship

to us

to be

in a

space

together

there must

be an

affirmation

of my

individuality

and how

I want

to express

it.

Acceptance

is based

on total

affirmation.

Relationship

requires total

affirmation.

That's not

the church.

You may

come from

very different

backgrounds.

very different

places in the

country.

Maybe

different

places

outside of

the

country.

My

church

is made

up of

people

who have

professional

degrees and

people who

have never

finished high

school.

And people

who have had

long term

drug habits

and people

who are

in law

enforcement.

It's just

a variety.

People who

are 90

years old.

People who

are 10

years old.

Five

years old.

And it's

not even

that diverse

a place.

We probably

have maybe

20 or 25

different ethnicities

in the church.

But it's not

that diverse.

But what

draws us

together is

not the

things we

share from

the world.

When we

come together

we don't

build our

acceptance on

affirmation of

our individualism.

We build it

on a shared

need for

mercy and

grace at

the throne

of God.

That's what

binds us all

together.

We are

needy people.

The one

thing you

and I

have in

common is

our need.

And that

we look to

the one who

can fill it.

And out of

that we have

fellowship with

one another.

But it's not

just a home.

The church is

not just a

home.

Point two,

there's no

better place

to make a

difference than

the church.

Verse five,

blessed are

those whose

strength is in

you.

I'm just

going to

get a quick

water here.

Whose

strength is

in you.

And whose

heart are

the highways

to Zion.

As they

go through

the valley

of Bacah

they make

it a place

of springs.

The early

rain also

covers it

with pools.

They go

from strength

to strength.

Each one

appearing before

God in

Zion.

Verses five

through seven

describe the

processional to

the temple.

This is to be

understood both

as a physical

journey,

traveling,

but also an

inner journey.

Note verse

five,

in whose

heart are

the highways

to Zion.

Long before

the psalmist

embarks on the

physical journey

to this

temple,

his heart

has mapped

out the

way.

Can you

see the

expectancy?

This is not

a cold

heart expecting

church to

change it.

This is a

heart prepared.

This is a

person who is

longing for

something he

cannot get in

the other way

and so he's

going.

He's got a

heart set on

pilgrimage as

the New

International

Version

translates it.

Where's your

heart these

days?

Do you

have a

heart

indifferent

to God

during the

week?

Is your

heart

distracted?

I don't

know if

you're like

me,

but my

heart,

apart from

the gathering

of the

saints,

is incredibly

distracted.

I have

seven different

teams I

need to

follow as

a fan.

I've got to

have seven

different

fandom,

and I've

got hats

for them

all.

And it

just depends

on the

season,

which hat

I wear.

But I

have to

devote

myself to

following

these

seven

teams in

order to

be a

faithful

fan.

I love

music.

I have

so many

interests in

my life.

I love

history.

I'm

reading and

researching and

studying and

writing on

history.

These are

all distractions

for me.

I think

they are a

godly expression

of who I

am, but

I can be

distracted.

Church can

be something

I'm trying

to fit in.

You might

be distracted

with other

things.

Or you

might be

someone who

sort of

lives and

has that

life where

you kind

of live

down and

you hope

that the

service on

Sunday or

some other

activity will

keep things

going for

you.

You depend

on the

gathering for

your heart

desire before

the Lord.

Do you

struggle with

those things?

Certainly

I do.

What the

psalmist is

showing us

is that our

heart should

be mapping

the highway

to Zion

every day.

Do you

map the

highway to

Zion every

day in

your heart?

We learn in

verse 6 that

the journey

isn't just a

cakewalk.

This valley

of Bacca is

not a place

where you

want to

camp.

In the

Hebrew it

can be

translated

valley of

weeping or

the valley

of tears.

It isn't so

much a

literal place

as it is

an unavoidable

experience.

The spiritual

journey will

take you

through desolate

places.

Right now

there are

names and

faces of

people in

my congregation

and my

fellowship

world who

are in

the valley

of Bacca.

Some facing

death.

Some I

deal a lot

with the

older saints.

Some realizing

they've gotten

to a place

and because

of the

decisions

they've

made they

don't have

enough income

to make

it and

retire.

They have

to keep

working longer

than they

really should.

Some whose

families have

fractured.

Who can't

even speak

to their

children.

People who

are at

odds with

one of their

marriages

that are

struggling

and are

in strife.

people who

are struggling.

There was

the prophetic

words today.

I really

appreciated

that these

inward

things we

hide and

protect rather

than bring

into the

light and

receive healing

for.

People whose

life experiences

are dry and

brittle and

barren.

Their souls

are parched

and the heat

of trial has

beaten them

down.

I wish

one of the

challenges of

being a

pastor is

you're exposed

to so much

human suffering

but you

can't rescue

anyone from

it.

You walk

alongside

people in

sadness and

in tragedy

and in

suffering and

sometimes walk

them right into

eternity with

no answers to

what they were

dealing with.

I wish

these people

could take

the bypass

could take

495

around the

valley.

I wish we

could airlift

them out

but we

can't.

no spiritual

journey goes

around the

valley of

tears.

But pilgrims

are never

left to their

own resources

in the

valley.

Look at

verses 6

and 7.

As they go

through the

valley of

Baccah they

make it a

place of

springs.

The early

rain also

covers it

with pools.

They go

from strength

to strength.

Each one

appears before

God in

Zion.

We have

the promises

in our

valley of

God's

sustaining

grace.

The early

rain, the

soaking rain

that our

souls need

because they're

dry.

This is a

promise of

God's blessing

and provision

when and

where you

need it in

the dry

places on

your pilgrim

journey.

You need

watering in

the dryness

of your

soul.

Not only

that, as

we as

God's

pilgrims, we

won't fall

short of the

goal.

There's a

promise here

as well.

Every

pilgrim, each

will appear

before the

God of

Zion.

We begin

the journey

in need, we

travel through

trial, but we

are sustained

for the journey

along the way

and we're

guaranteed to

make it to

the end.

That's the

promise.

each one

appears before

the God

in Zion.

How?

Because we

have the

Lord of

hosts,

literally the

God of

divine armies

who clears

the path and

makes sure

nothing's going

to get in

the way of

us completing

the journey.

But there's

something you

might not expect

too, and this

is really

interesting.

In verse 6,

the psalmist

says,

as they go

through the

valley of

Bacchah,

they make it

a place of

springs.

In other

words, not

only does God

meet them in

the valley,

but God

meets other

people because

of them as

they journey

through the

valley of

tears.

One

commentator says

it like this,

the context

indicates that

the valley is

arid, but

transformed by

the presence

of the

joyful pilgrims.

The rains

follow the

pilgrim journey.

Where the

pilgrims go,

the rain will

come.

When pilgrim

Christians gather,

pilgrim

Christians make

a difference.

So do you

realize that

you're not just

saved to become

a good church

goer.

You're not just

saved to come

into this

community where

it feels safe

and where you

find acceptance

and where you

can build

relationships and

you can order

your life around

the things of

God.

Jesus didn't

come to earth

to make

church goers.

He came to

redeem sinners

and turn them

into true

worshipers and

then to send

them out into

a dry and

broken world

as witnesses

!

And missionaries,

yes, and as

church planners.

I believe at

some point

there will be

people sent out

from this

church as

church planners.

We're planning

a church in

September,

about 35-40

minutes from

where our

church is,

and some of

the people who

are going on

that church

plant are

people who

were in my

community group

back in

1989.

They've been

in the church

for almost as

long as I

have, and

now they're

going to start

a church

plant.

I'm sending

out some

of my oldest

and dearest

friends to

help start

this church

because they

believe that

the church is

not simply the

place of

gathering,

it's the

place of

mission.

It's the

place of

impact.

Brothers and

sisters, the

world is a

valley of

tears.

People hold

up well at

times.

they distract

themselves where

they can.

They try to

make things

better where

possible, but

you and I, we

have the

difference maker.

We are not the

difference makers.

The pilgrims in

the valley are

not the rain,

but because they

are there, God

brings the

rain.

He is the

difference maker.

It's not our

morality that

makes a

difference.

It's not our

politics that

makes a

difference.

It isn't our

religion that

makes a

difference.

It's God

with us on

the journey.

That's the

thing the world

truly needs, and

that's who people

encounter when they

encounter the

church.

This community

around you

needs you here.

Wherever you

meet in this

community,

community.

And I do

pray and hope

that there will

be a permanent

location for you.

I know how hard

it is in an

urban area to

find a building

that you can

afford and

occupy.

And it might

be part of

your mission

that at least

for a while

you're in the

community but

not visible in

your own

building.

But it

doesn't mean

you don't

have presence.

It doesn't

mean that the

very fact that

you're here is

God's blessing

on this

community.

God puts

you here in

this dry and

weary land

because He

intends to

reach people

through you.

He intends

to rain

mercy and

grace on

this community

because you're

here.

Addicts don't

just need

recovery.

They need the

company that

are redeemed.

The sexually

broken and

confused don't

need moral

persuasion.

They need

compelling pictures

of men and

women living

with joy in

God's design

for singleness

and marriage.

I as a

Marxist

atheist did

not need

a different

philosophy.

I needed

a Savior.

The lost

don't need

maps.

They need

guides.

The world

doesn't need

the weight

of more

religion.

The world

needs the

water of life

pooling up

in dry

places

because the

people of

God go

where there

is no

life.

Brothers

and sisters,

whatever you

are, be

the church.

Make a

difference.

And let's

see the third

point.

There's no

better place to

prepare for

eternity than

the church.

Verse 8,

O Lord,

God of hosts,

hear my prayer,

give ear,

O God of

Jacob.

Behold our

shield, O God,

look on the

face of your

anointed,

for a day in

your courts is

better than a

thousand elsewhere.

I'd rather be a

doorkeeper in the

house of my God

than dwell in the

tents of wickedness.

For the Lord,

God is a sun and

shield.

The Lord bestows

favor and honor.

No good thing

does he withhold

from those who

walk uprightly.

O Lord of hosts,

blessed is the

one who trusts in

you.

Verses 8 to 10

are the point of

the journey.

To worship God.

The reason I'm

going is to hear

from God, to

engage with God,

to know God,

to worship God.

The main reason

the pilgrim leaves

everything and

makes the journey

is to worship

God, the God

that he knows.

It's not about

him, it's about

God.

There's simply no

place he'd rather

be.

You can see that

in his declaration

in verse 10.

A day in your

courts is better

than a thousand

elsewhere.

I'd rather be a

doorkeeper in the

house of my God

than dwell in the

tents of wickedness.

This isn't about

humility.

Well, you know

what?

I don't need to

have a big role

here in the church.

I can just serve

in various ways.

I don't need to

be noticed.

It's not about

that.

This is about

location.

This is about

where I orient.

I'll sacrifice

all this world

gives to me

to be close

with God.

As Charles

Spurgeon

commented,

even a glimpse

of the love

of God

is better

than ages

spent in

the pleasure

of sin.

I found

that out

in 1981.

You in

various ways

have found

that out

through your

lives.

If you're

here today

and you've

not tasted

and seen

that the

Lord is

good,

once you

do,

it will

change your

view of

everything in

your life.

life.

Why?

Because life

is more

than this

world has

to offer.

And life

is beyond

what this

world contains.

Being in

God's house

is preparation

for life

in the

eternal

kingdom.

We're going

to take

communion

at the end

of this

service.

And the

reason we

take communion

is in some

sense not only

to recognize

what has been

done but

is a

foretaste

of a

meal that

is to

come.

If we're

part of

any church

for any

length of

time we'll

find ourselves

wondering a

lot of

things.

Is this

the best

fit for

me?

Do I

like it

here?

Am I

going to

have to

sacrifice

something in

my life

to stay

here?

Am I

going to

have to

change

my plans

for my

future in

order to

be a

part of

what's

going on

here?

Is there

something

better?

Some

place with

less

problems?

Some

place with

better

ministry?

Is the

church going

in the

direction I

want to

go?

Listen I

get it.

You don't

think pastors

think about

that when it

comes to

church?

And we

run them

and we

ask who's

in charge

here?

What is

going on?

How did

the church

get this

way?

We have

questions about

church as

well.

It's why

many ministers

I think the

average lifespan

of a minister

career is about

seven or eight

years.

men lose

sight in

ministry of

what they're

there for.

But when we

wrestle with

those questions

we cannot

treat the

church like

anything else

we belong

to.

The church

is not

something we

attend.

Friends the

church is

who we

are.

as we

were singing

today I

just had

this burden

I felt

this from

the Lord

and this

isn't directed

anybody or

is concerned

but I

know that

being in

this location

you've come

here many of

you come

here for

school or

for a job

and that

you have

a path

that's somewhat

uncertain about

what happens

after this

and you're

committed to

this church

and you're

faithful to

this church

but you're

in some

sense thinking

well okay

but where's

my career

going to

take me

where's my

vision

what am I

doing

do I go

back home

what happens

if I have

kids

and how hard

is it to

live in an

urban environment

that's so

expensive

all those

things I

get it

and I

don't expect

most people

to be like

me and

stay in

the same

church for

40 years

that took

amount of

various places

along the way

I had to

make choices

and they

were not

choices that

were easily

made

but my

burden is