Why am I here again?

“It must be the diet coke!”  That’s what I tell my wife when I once again forget one of the few items she has sent me to the grocery store to retrieve.  I don’t know if it is the busyness, the seemingly rapid aging mind, or truly the diet coke, but I have a tendency to forget what I’m doing at times.  I can set out from the bedroom to the kitchen only to get there and ask myself, “Why did I come in here?”  Ever happen to you?  Do you need reminders?

I think that the same thing happens to us as we lead the church.  It’s easy for us to forget why we are doing what we do.  Are we working hard each and every day to try and make everyone happy?  Are we trying to build a bigger church?  A church with a good reputation in the community?  You might find yourself asking, “Why did I come here anyways?”

I was reminded this week by the familiar words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:22-23, “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.  I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.”  Paul explains that everything he has done, all of the hard work has been “for the sake of the gospel” that he “might save some.” 

I don’t know about you, but I need that reminder from time to time.  That reminder sharpens my focus and renews my energy.  That reminder encourages me that its worth the extra hours spent visiting hospitals and making phone calls to the wayward.  That reminder whispers to my spirit and says, “The hard work of renewal is worth the effort.”  Why?  For the sake of the gospel.

For more articles and helpful tools visit usacanadaregion.org/church-renewal.