Day 17

“I am called to belong, not just believe.”
Purpose Driven Life
Point to Ponder: Day 17

I have been an official member of a Baptist church since I was baptized when I was 6 or 7. I have been active in church since before I was born. Most of my first memories are of me at church. One of my favorites is when I would ring the bell in the bell tower at First Baptist Church Gatlinburg, Tennessee before the 11 o’clock service. Then I would hand out bulletins with the ushers. During Middle school and High School I was always at church everyday, before school and after.

My first year at college I did not attend one church regularly. I went to several different churches. It was hard for me not to be an active member. Then my sophomore year I became a Youth Intern and later Youth Director at Christ Church. Now in Atlanta I am looking to be active in a church here. It is very important to be active in a local church. Even today when I can watch sermons on the internet from all around the country, or listen to them on my iPod (which I do). That is good but it does not replace the fellowship community of the local church. (I am thinking about planting a church in the internet but more on that in the years to come.)

There are many things wrong with the institution of the church today but that does not mean that thoughtful Christians need to abandon it. We need to redeem the church. We need to be agents of redemption for the church.

Rick say this, “The church is God’s instrument on earth. We are not just to model God’s love by loving each other; we are to carry it together to the rest of the world.”