Yes and Amen

I'm in a kind of strange spot in life right now.

A little over six months ago I resigned from a position as a pastor at a local church. The resignation wasn't really about the church. It was barely even about the position. It was a lot more about me. About me needing to be excited about what I was doing in ministry. About me needing to figure out where I fit, and really what I was made to do. So, for the last several months I have visited different churches and taken in the experiences.

I drove around today, running errands. During the drive I kept thinking about my church experiences.

During my time as a youth pastor I just wished the teens that I worked with would take in those things I said and make use of them.

I've spent about half of my life in church now. I can't help but think of how overbearing some church demands and recommendations are. In fact, I remember a post about this that I read not too long ago by Tim Stevens, in which he gave a list of everyday demands churches impose on people.

• Attend church service weekly.
• Volunteer during another service
• Attend Bible study or Sunday school or midweek service (whatever brand your church offers).
• Serve in a ministry that helps the poor and needy.
• If you are a leader (and we know who you are), then we'll have a few more meetings to attend, contacts to make, events to organize and teams to rally.
• Attend periodic special events hosted by the church.
• Be a great husband or wife and invest time in your marriage.
• Oh, and make sure you are involved in mens' or womens' ministry.
• Get in a small group and meet regularly.
• If you are a man, you must be in a mens' small group for accountability. Otherwise we know you look at porn.
• If you are married, you probably should also be in a couples group if you care about your spouse.
• Read your Bible every day. Anything less than 30 minutes is probably not enough.
• Be a good citizen. Vote and get involved in your community.
• Give ten percent of every penny that you make. And give to the special offerings. And give to the kids going on the missions trip. And give to the building fund.
• Go on a missions trip. Been on a local trip? Overseas is your next step.
• Invest in relationships in your neighborhood and at your workplace.
• Invite people to church. Every week. The purpose of that, of course, is so you can get them to church so they can do #1 through #16 above.

The list is pretty crazy. Sometimes the idea of it and the truth of it haunts me in my sleep. While I've heard all of these things, I don't know that I've done all of these things. But you know, I have gone to church and ignored many things that have been recommended. Some of those things, I confess, I have recommended myself and never actually followed through on. 

So, add this to the list. Maybe. 

I had an idea. What if I actually did everything I was asked to do in a church service? 

I am a guy with a pastoral license, a Bible degree, a load of church experience and a question. "What if I did it all?"

So, for the next year, beginning Sunday of this week, I will do whatever a preacher asks to the best of my ability. I have a job that is not a church-job. I play guitar in a rock band. My wonderful wife requires my attention. Despite all these things that are happening, I will attempt to add to them the list of church assigned tasks. 

Maybe, I'll be surprised. Maybe the churches that I visit will have very low expectations. Maybe I'll be so overwhelmed with tasks that I won't be able to do anything about it. Maybe I will have to give away money that I don't have budgeted. Maybe, I will do things just to go through the motions. Maybe, I will find God in new ways in these tasks. 

I don't know what I will do. 

By the way, this is what I'll be doing on this blog I have pretty much ignored for a very long time. Stay tuned for updates. My first service where I MUST do what is said is Sunday. I am nervous already.