Here is an observation from thirty years of ministry. Every member of a church is either growing in his or her commitment to that church, dying in his or her commitment, or maintaining in his or her church commitment. Honestly, maintaining usually doesn’t happen that much. The truth is, most church members are becoming more committed or less committed over time. I’ve literally been watching it happen for over thirty years.
As I think about my observation, one question continues to surface. How does God feel about my commitment level to His Church? I understand that you would expect a pastor to be writing about local church commitment. You would assume that only a pastor or a church leader would really care about a person’s commitment level. Why would anyone else care about this issue enough to write about it?
The reality is, God cares about your commitment to His Church even more than your pastor does. The Church is the bride of Christ, and she deserves a commitment. The Church is the Body of believers, and every part needs to be committed. The Church is the flock of God, and belonging means something to the Shepherd. The Church is the Family of God, and family commitments are important.
If over time your commitment to the Church of Jesus Christ is decreasing rather than increasing, you need to figure out why. In fairness, your involvement level might look different over time, but not your commitment level. As time passes, a person may or may not be able to do all they once did, but that does not mean that they can’t be even more committed. I think God would be incredibly pleased with seeing a person’s commitment to His chosen vehicle deepen rather than weaken as the years pass.
I want to encourage you to always ask the question- how can I be more committed to my church this year than I was last year? How can I attend more? How can I serve more? How can I give more? How can I support more? How can I encourage more?
In Acts 20:28 the Bible says, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the Church of God, which He obtained with His own blood.” If the Church cost Jesus His own life, how can our commitment to the flock of God decrease rather than increase?
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