Feeling Detached

I miss the LCC family pretty bad. I have been away from our church family for three weeks. Lisa and I were on vacation for two weeks, returning last Sunday. Then on Monday (My Birthday) I was picked to be on a jury and have been sitting in a court room in Ft. Worth all week. I miss my church family. I miss the holy experience that comes from worshiping God as a part of God's family. I can't wait for Sunday morning. I am looking forward to being with my LIFE Group on Sunday night. I feel so detached.

I often say that if a person or family misses church for several weeks there is a good chance they won't be coming back. Not because they are mad or don't like the church any more, it is because they get detached, disconnected. One week of absence may make the heart grow fonder, but the longer one is away the more detached one becomes. Being absent from the gathering together of God's family really effects one's spiritual life. We are designed, and the church is designed for us, to get the most out of our relationship with God when we are together. The church is God's plan. Anyone who tells you they can stay away from God's family and still be close to God is in denial. The devil wants us away from God's family, because he knows it makes us spiritually weak.

Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

If you have been out of church for a while. Go back to church this Sunday. It may be hard the first Sunday to get up and not sleep in, but it will be worth it. Go and experience the power of God's presence that comes when His people gather to worship Him.

For where two or three gather together because they are mine, I am there among them." Matt 18:20

Wow.....What an awesome God.....I can't wait to experience Him with you.....

Serving you in Him
Royal

88% of Young Adults Drop Out of Church at High School Graduation

Agape Press:

SBC Leader Alarmed Over Young Adults 'Dropping Out' of Churches
By Jim Brown
August 7, 2006

In 2002, the SBC's Council on Family Life reported that roughly 88 percent of evangelical children are leaving the church shortly after they graduate from high school. Dr. Frank Page, the denomination's new president, says SBC churches need to counter that statistic by finding ways to make themselves more relatable, more pertinent and significant to students before they graduate.

"We're seeing a societal trend where a large number of young people are opting out of the church," Page notes. "Estimates of 15 to 20 million people now in America have said they are Christians but they simply don't want to be a part of the church," he says.

Student Ministries can not be just an after thought or icing on the cake....We have to be discipling our teens......Too many churches see youth ministries as just a ministry to entertain kids and keep parents happy.....

Just Walk Across the Room: Taking the First Step to Winning People For Christ

In his new book: "Just Walk Across the Room: Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith", Bill Hybels presents a real-life example of how following a simple prompting of the Holy Spirit ultimately changed the life of his son's soccer coach. Bill writes...

When my son was in the fifth or sixth grade, he joined a soccer league. And although Todd was a talented athlete for his age, team sports were a little intimidating to him. The man who served for the next three years as Todd’s soccer coach was a businessman named Brian, a fantastic guy who really loved kids. Miraculously, he built hope and confidence into my otherwise-apprehensive son and actually sold Todd on the idea that he could be a terrific soccer player.

For three years I stood on the sidelines at almost every game. My wife, Lynne, my daughter, Shauna, and I cheered for Todd beside other parents who were rooting for their little guys, all of us engaging in the obnoxious hollering that families do at youth soccer matches. Afterward, we’d typically enjoy a few minutes of fellowship with other families that attended Willow.

One afternoon, Brian was in the center of the field after a long day, loading cones into his car so that he could head home. Just then, the Holy Spirit said, “Walk across the soccer field and help him, Hybels. Leave this safe little group, and go see if you can get to know Brian.” I can replay the scene in my mind as if it happened yesterday.

As I put one foot in front of the other and headed toward where Brian stood, I tried to prepare myself for whatever might unfold once I opened my mouth. Ought to be interesting. After introducing myself, we chatted about the kids on the team, about what line of work Brian was involved in, and eventually about my occupation. He wasn’t too thrilled to discover that I was a pastor, but as weeks went by, he continued to engage in brief conversations with me after games or practices.

Each time we talked, I would thank Brian for the meaningful impact he was having on my son. “I appreciate how much time you volunteer out of your busy schedule to coach these kids,” I would tell him. “I think what you are doing is noble and classy, Brian. I’ll always be grateful.”

On one day in particular, when we were nearing a holiday service at Willow, I was prompted by the Spirit to walk across that soccer field again, this time to see if Brian would like to attend the service. Mustering an additional ounce of courage with each step I took, I asked him if he would consider coming to Willow just once with me. His response instantly erased any hope of receptivity on his part. “Oh, man, Bill, I knew it would turn into this! I just knew someday it would land here. Look, I know plenty about Willow Creek — I get tied up in its traffic every week. The whole thing frustrates me. God is not part of my life, church is not part of my life, and I’d just as soon take this whole thing off of the agenda here.” (Hey, at least he was clear.)

“Okay, Brian,” I said, trying to relax him. “No pressure, I promise. I’m committed to respecting your wishes.” And each week the following year, I would walk step by step across that soccer field to help him pick up balls and cones. How small those steps felt! Was I helping at all?

“How’d things go this week?” I’d ask. And we would talk about business and the deals he was working on. Then he would ask me how my week had been. I suppose my no-pressure approach served its purpose: I no longer offended Brian with unsolicited invitations to church. But to me, the whole experience seemed like an exercise in spiritual water-treading. Eventually Todd cycled out of the soccer league, and I lost contact with Brian altogether. Frankly, I assumed I’d never see him again. But after several years had passed, the day came when Brian’s world was turned dramatically upside down. Business issues shifted. His family life tilted. In sobering and unexpected ways, pain and despair walked through the front door of his life and took up residence there.

See the rest of the review here......