Sunday isn’t a sector

I was a sophomore in high school. I’d had a meaningful relationship with Jesus for as long as I could remember. I’m sure there were times I balked at getting up, dressing up, and going to church – but I don’t remember any of those times. The primary church I attended as a child was Lutheran, which meant a two year confirmation program where we studied what we believed. Most of my peers were there because they had to be; not trying to brag at all, but I was there because I wanted to be.

So if you’d asked me prior to this weekend youth conference if I expected to hear something I’d never considered, I probably would have said, “Nope.” But I’ll never forget what the speaker said – at least his main point: “There’s no such thing as a Sunday Christian.”

Get out of the box

My faith had been in a box – a Sunday and Wednesday box, along with maybe an occasional Bible reading box. But did it help me when I was being bullied in middle school? Never considered that possibility. Did it guide me when I bullied right back with my words and “cut-downs”? Sadly, I don’t even remember feeling guilty. The thought that what I did on Sundays could (and should) affect my weekdays was completely new.

Sadly, this isn’t only a teenage problem. And many of our church practices fuel this misconception. Pastors are “called” while everyone else gets “hired.” Church leaders and people going overseas on missions trips are commissioned and prayed for publicly. Do we do the same for teachers at the start of each school year? A few do. How about accountants as April 15 approaches? Or construction workers at the start of summer? I’ve never seen that.

My Pastor Dave wake-up call

There was a woman at the church where I served as a pastor who was both a kidney specialist and a professor at the UA medical school, training other kidney specialists. She was a committed church-goer, attending as often as work allowed, teaching Sunday school, and incredibly excited about an overseas mission trip we were sponsoring to Haiti. I’ll never forget a Saturday morning weekly prayer meeting where she stopped me afterwards, apologizing. Work had gotten busier, and she was going to have to stop teaching Sunday School. I think her words were something like “stop doing ministry.”

A doctor who understands saving people’s lives and training others to do the same as “just a job,” while ushering and teaching Sunday School is “ministry?” Whose fault is that? I’m looking at you, Pastor Dave.

Location, location, location

The difference between pastors and accountants is the location of their ministry. Pastors are in the minority when their full-time “ministering” happens within a congregation. The vast majority of Christ-followers do ministry that doesn’t show up on congregational calendars. Which also means they’ll intersect with people that congregations aren’t connected to. At all!

Billy Graham said that the everyday workplace in the 20th century would be what the medical profession had been the previous century when it comes to the expansion of the Church. Maybe the 21st century? I’m not so sure we capitalized on that insight last century.

Faith at Work

I had the opportunity to attend a Faith at Work Summit in Cincinnati recently, and Bob Doll was one of the speakers. (I have a great Bob Doll story from last December in New York if you’re interested!) He said, “I don’t think we should call this ‘faith at work’ or ‘faith and work’ because there’s no separation. How about faithwork?”

Bob is chairman of the board for a couple of ministries I’m connecting closely to with all of the 2033 opportunities – and at his day job he manages investments. He shared that every time someone asks what he did that weekend, he always says “church…” with a smile. That alone starts conversations! One of the boards he chairs is for the Lausanne Movement, and one of their goals is “Christlike leaders for every church and sector.” 

Tucson in 2033

The key for a united celebration of the resurrection in every city won’t be what happens on Sunday mornings. It will be how many people are talking about it every other day during the week. Do you agree?

Dave Drum, Founder