Us with God

An almanac for the soul

Any season · Tired of Church · Any season

Tired of church? Maybe you’re hungry for God.

What wore you out may not have been Jesus. It may have been the postures you were handed.

You used to be there every week. Maybe you served on three teams. Maybe you sat in the same row for years. Somewhere along the way it started to feel like work, or performance, or a show you’d seen before. Now Sunday comes and you stay home, unsure if you’re drifting or just tired. Either way, you’re still a sheep he calls by name (John 10:3).

Four tired ways through Tired of Church

Which one sounds like you this year?

Under GodSheep that hide from the ShepherdChurch is where I stay in good standing. Miss too many Sundays and God starts keeping score.
Over GodSheep that know the wayChurch is a program to optimize: better music, better messages, better metrics.
From GodSheep that follow the grassChurch is a product. If it stops meeting my needs, I shop for another one.
For GodSheep trying to be the sheepdogChurch is a machine for mission, and I’m a volunteer slot that needs filling.

Fellow travelers

We aren’t the first to walk this way.

  • The woman at the well wanted to argue about the right mountain for worship. Jesus offered her living water instead (John 4:10, John 4:20–24).
  • Jesus in the temple cared deeply what God’s house was for: “a house of prayer for all nations” (Mark 11:17).
  • God’s scattered sheep were promised a Shepherd who would search for them and gather them again (Ezek 34:12).

On the road to Emmaus two disciples were walking away, disappointed, and Jesus didn’t wait for them to come back; he walked with them (Luke 24:13–32).

Where the Shepherd meets us

The destination of every season is the same: God himself.

  • Their hearts burned on the road while he opened the Scriptures, and they recognized him at a table as he broke the bread (Luke 24:30–32).
  • Church is his idea, and he hasn’t given up on it. We are being built together into a dwelling where God lives by his Spirit (Eph 2:22).
  • Where two or three gather in his name, he is there with them (Matt 18:20).
For the road

Set an “Emmaus table.” Share one meal this month with one or two others and read a Gospel story together, maybe the walk to Emmaus. Bread, a story, and the Lord who walks with us. See also Church.

Keep walking

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