2026 August news-letter article

Fellow travelers,

“Fat & lazy” is the phrase I have used recently to describe the Israelites in the Old Testament.  If you have listened to any parts of our Roll Through the Bible series during the mid-week Adult Bible Study sessions, it is highly likely that you have heard Pastor Pat or me refer to the four-fold cycle of relationship between God and the children of Israel.  Simply, the Israelites receive blessings from God.  The comfort from which, allow them to grow happy, complacent, “fat & lazy”, and disobedient, failing to faithfully follow the Law.  Thirdly, they begin to experience God’s punishment and just (fair) judgment against their sin.  Seemingly every cycle of this involves harsher and harsher punishment because they are hard-headed and “stiff necked (Exodus 32:9)”, refusing to pay attention to God when He is trying to get their attention.  Fourthly, eventually, once God has gotten their attention the hard way, they acknowledge the errors of their ways, confess their sins, repent, turning back to God in a posture of faithfulness and obedience.  Having done so, they [firstly] receive God’s hand of blessing all over again.

That second phase of the cycle has given me much thought in recent weeks.  I have befriended a church planter in Winston-Salem that refers to himself as a “theological mutt”, having come from a rather eclectic mixture of different denominations before landing in a much more liturgical tribe than ours.  He talked about the beauty of the more “high church” tradition, where creeds are read weekly, the Lord’s Supper is commemorated more frequently, and they practice congregational responsive readings often.  I agreed with him about how beautiful those practices are, and the positive value of actively cultivating a spirit of togetherness, driving a feeling of smallness and humility into the individual church member.  Then again [I told him] “we don’t do that stuff very often.”  He then admitted the tendency of those things just becoming rote repetition, growing “stale”, and losing their meaning.

Are we “fat & lazy”?  I am certainly not accusing our church corporately, nor any individual herein, of growing disobedient or unfaithful to God’s Word.  I am questioning if you or I have become complacent or stale in some way.  Only you can answer this question for your own soul, but ponder a few things with me before you solidify your final answer.

First, how is your spiritual temperature with respect to personal worship?  As a disciple (follower) of Jesus, how is your prayer life?  How is your time of reading/studying the bible?  Do you hunger to spend more time with God, by studying scripture and communing with Him in prayer?  Have you grown spiritually over the past season of life?  How so?  Are you experiencing the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit?  Would others (who see Jesus in you) agree with this assessment?

Second, how is your spiritual temperature with respect to corporate worship?  Is attending a church service just a thing you do out of habit?  Is it just an event on your calendar?  Do you arrive on Sundays with a sense of eagerness?  Have you experienced the glory of God lately?  If you’ve vacated this summer, and missed a Sunday or two in a row, does your soul long to be back with your brothers/sisters to lift high the name of Jesus?  When you leave Sunday afternoons, do you feel like you’ve experienced the presence of God?  Do you “put in” active participation, or do you just show up, expecting to “get out” as a consumer?  1) If we have areas where improvements are needed [and we do], please come see me; I welcome feed back.  2) If some Sundays are “drier” than others, that is a completely normal thing for most people, and could be a result of a dozen different variables; be encouraged to keep participating, asking God to reveal Himself to you afresh and anew.  3) What could you do, internally or externally, to become a more active participant in corporate worship?

Third, as a disciple (follower) of Jesus, what are you doing to make further disciples (Matthew 28:19)?  Are you walking the walk, setting an example of holiness and humility, pointing others toward Jesus?  Are you talking the talk, graciously, lovingly, boldly having conversations about spiritual things with family, friends, and co-workers (those who may be saved and/or lost people)?  Do you feel equipped to have those conversations about the bible, or about ethics, or about doctrine, or about living a life of wisdom and understanding?  Do you pray for hurting hearts as much as you pray for hurting body parts?  Do you ask God to give you opportunities to share your testimony?  Do you live daily, looking at people, wondering how you might be able to brighten their day?  Does your heart ache for those who are hurting?  Are you just cruising through life accomplishing tasks, or are you influencing others (loved ones AND strangers) in a positive way?

Fourth, as a part of our church family, what are you doing to serve?  Are you investing in the lives of your brothers/sisters in Christ?  How (this could be formal within our church organization, or not)?  Are you investing in missions and evangelism?  When is the last time you participated in one of our mission projects?  Are you giving money, for the glory of God and the good of others?  Are you giving time, through our church’s programs (or beyond)?  Are there projects we should do; do you have a passion or an idea that we need to pursue?  Are you struggling in some way, regarding the previous paragraph [we strive to teach, equip, train, and encourage you practice missions and evangelism personally, irrespective of our formal programs/projects]?

Fifth, back to your spiritual temperature with respect to personal worship, is faith a private or public matter for you?  Are reading, studying, and praying just an academic exercise for you?  Are singing and listening to sermons just an experience for you?  Is being a disciple just a mental exercise?  Is following Jesus just an emotional exercise?  Is worship just an event you attend, OR is worship a lifestyle you live?  Is your daily life marked by walking in Jesus’ footsteps, following His commands, yielding to His precepts, faithfully striving toward obedience, holiness, humility, and spiritual maturity?  Is faith a public matter for you, pointing others toward the Christ?  In other words, do others see Jesus in you, as you talk the talk and walk the walk?

We all experience seasons of comfort that can devolve into complacency and downright laziness.  None of us are immune from spiritual staleness or becoming “dry”.  It seems to me, however, that thinking through the above prompts fix our eyes where they ought be fixed, upon Jesus.  As we do, His Spirit begins a freshening work in our soul.  Are there elements in the questions above where I need to improve?  Absolutely yes.  I imagine there are a couple for you too.  May God show us what we need to see.  As we behold His vision, may we be spurred onward to love and good works.  May we walk a bit more closely with Him tomorrow than we do today.

If they lead through the Temple holy, preaching the Word,
or in homes of the poor and lowly, serving the Lord;
foot prints of Jesus that make the path way glow.
We will follow the steps of Jesus, where e’er they go!
--A.J.