ALL IN!!
Go Cavs! I hope they take it all this year. They've worked so hard, and LeBron wants it so badly. In my hometown, Cleveland, Ohio, we are die hard fans. Win, lose or draw, the fans will be in the stands at every game, every week, every year. The fans are loyal and faithful to the team.
When it comes to sports fans, you know one when you see one. Their daily lifestyle and fanatic natures are intertwined. They have banners, bumper stickers, license plates, jerseys, hats, ticket stubs, season tickets, ink pens, pajamas, t-shirts, mugs, cell phone cases, and a million other items displaying their favorite team. Their conversations are oozing with facts and stats about their team. They are passionate, dedicated and down for their team no matter what.
I'm not a sports fanatic. I don't have a favorite team that I watch every week. I like sports because the guys are hot. I do however, have a thing that I do every Sunday, every week, every year. I go to Church.
I pride myself on going to church every Sunday. I've been going every week for about 4 years now. It's not always at my home church, but I'm in a sanctuary somewhere every Sunday morning. A few months ago, I realized that all I did was go to church every Sunday. I didn't belong to any ministries, I wasn't serving in the community, and I wasn't even going to Bible Study. What's the point of spending all this time in church if I'm not taking any action. It's almost as if my commitment to coming to service is in vain. I asked myself, "Are you ALL IN?"
In the inner city, there are at least 3 churches on every block. You will not pass one major intersection without seeing a "so and so" missionary baptist church. It seems like at one time in the history of the city, owning a church must have been the trendy thing to do. Does there really need to be 800 churches in one city? I don't think so. With all these churches, you'd think the city was full of holy saints.
I'm getting older and my mentality is changing. I'm seeking stability and balance. I want my habits to be consistent with my beliefs. I want my lifestyle to reflect my spiritual beliefs. If I'm attending church every week, I need to be involved in a ministry that meets on a day besides Sunday. If I plan on being a leader in the church, there are certain things that I need to work on Sunday through Sunday.
I probably shouldn't be in a bar drinking every weekend if I want to be a leader in my church. (Sidenote:These are my changes and my personal improvements based on my own feelings and experiences). I know if I saw Deacon Smith kicking it with a drink in her hand every Friday, I'd never trust her to pray for me or advise me. It just would not sit well with me. Therefore, I need to be the change I want to see.
I most certainly will not be having premarital sex and fornicating. I'm a training to become a leader on the young adult ministry, and young women ages 18-25 will be looking up to me. How can I tell them about self-worth, self-respect and self-control if I'm not living it myself? A hypocritical leader is not the leader I will be. If I don't Shine Sistah Shine, I'm not going to preach it in a pulpit to others.
The type of successful leader that I will be is transparent, honest, spiritual, knowledgeable, wise, confident, and prepared. The changes I'm making are to improve myself as a leader and as a servant. I refuse to go into ministry lukewarm. I want to take on the responsibility of a role model; a woman that other people look up to. I'm striving to be a person that others emulate. I wish to be a walking blueprint of how to be a true leader and lover of God.
These changes are not extremely drastic. I'm not becoming a nun. I will still go out, but not as frequently and not to the same venues. I'll still have a cocktail or a glass of wine every now and then without getting wasted. I'll still wear tight jeans and high heels, where appropriate. The goal is not to become holier than thou. My goal is to be a true role model and leader, one who is not straddling the fence. Ain't no half steppin.
There's no reason I should be a loyal church going woman, but not serving the Lord. I won't keep going to church and doing nothing more than filling a seat. It's time for me to make a difference in my community, and utilize my God given talents to enhance the ministries of the church.
Being a faithful church goer has helped me get through hard times. I've bonded with other members, I've met new people, and have added tremendously to my support system. Also, after years of hearing sermon after sermon, there's always a song or scripture I can cling to when times get tough. Now, it's time to graduate from the pews to the pavement, and serve.
Let the church say Amen.
When it comes to sports fans, you know one when you see one. Their daily lifestyle and fanatic natures are intertwined. They have banners, bumper stickers, license plates, jerseys, hats, ticket stubs, season tickets, ink pens, pajamas, t-shirts, mugs, cell phone cases, and a million other items displaying their favorite team. Their conversations are oozing with facts and stats about their team. They are passionate, dedicated and down for their team no matter what.
I'm not a sports fanatic. I don't have a favorite team that I watch every week. I like sports because the guys are hot. I do however, have a thing that I do every Sunday, every week, every year. I go to Church.
I pride myself on going to church every Sunday. I've been going every week for about 4 years now. It's not always at my home church, but I'm in a sanctuary somewhere every Sunday morning. A few months ago, I realized that all I did was go to church every Sunday. I didn't belong to any ministries, I wasn't serving in the community, and I wasn't even going to Bible Study. What's the point of spending all this time in church if I'm not taking any action. It's almost as if my commitment to coming to service is in vain. I asked myself, "Are you ALL IN?"
In the inner city, there are at least 3 churches on every block. You will not pass one major intersection without seeing a "so and so" missionary baptist church. It seems like at one time in the history of the city, owning a church must have been the trendy thing to do. Does there really need to be 800 churches in one city? I don't think so. With all these churches, you'd think the city was full of holy saints.
I'm getting older and my mentality is changing. I'm seeking stability and balance. I want my habits to be consistent with my beliefs. I want my lifestyle to reflect my spiritual beliefs. If I'm attending church every week, I need to be involved in a ministry that meets on a day besides Sunday. If I plan on being a leader in the church, there are certain things that I need to work on Sunday through Sunday.
I probably shouldn't be in a bar drinking every weekend if I want to be a leader in my church. (Sidenote:These are my changes and my personal improvements based on my own feelings and experiences). I know if I saw Deacon Smith kicking it with a drink in her hand every Friday, I'd never trust her to pray for me or advise me. It just would not sit well with me. Therefore, I need to be the change I want to see.
I most certainly will not be having premarital sex and fornicating. I'm a training to become a leader on the young adult ministry, and young women ages 18-25 will be looking up to me. How can I tell them about self-worth, self-respect and self-control if I'm not living it myself? A hypocritical leader is not the leader I will be. If I don't Shine Sistah Shine, I'm not going to preach it in a pulpit to others.
The type of successful leader that I will be is transparent, honest, spiritual, knowledgeable, wise, confident, and prepared. The changes I'm making are to improve myself as a leader and as a servant. I refuse to go into ministry lukewarm. I want to take on the responsibility of a role model; a woman that other people look up to. I'm striving to be a person that others emulate. I wish to be a walking blueprint of how to be a true leader and lover of God.
These changes are not extremely drastic. I'm not becoming a nun. I will still go out, but not as frequently and not to the same venues. I'll still have a cocktail or a glass of wine every now and then without getting wasted. I'll still wear tight jeans and high heels, where appropriate. The goal is not to become holier than thou. My goal is to be a true role model and leader, one who is not straddling the fence. Ain't no half steppin.
There's no reason I should be a loyal church going woman, but not serving the Lord. I won't keep going to church and doing nothing more than filling a seat. It's time for me to make a difference in my community, and utilize my God given talents to enhance the ministries of the church.
Being a faithful church goer has helped me get through hard times. I've bonded with other members, I've met new people, and have added tremendously to my support system. Also, after years of hearing sermon after sermon, there's always a song or scripture I can cling to when times get tough. Now, it's time to graduate from the pews to the pavement, and serve.
Being able to self-evaluate & make improvement based on the evaluation is awesome. I will keep this short, but If anyone is constantly in church with never showing great improvement & showing accountability & growth, I question what GOD they are truly serving. GOD said that you will know His people by their fruit. If there's no good fruit coming to harvest then I'm questioning Everything.
ReplyDeleteThat's so true. I thought simply going every Sunday was key, but once I started to mature more spiritually things changed. I longed for something greater. I knew it was time to level up. I'm glad I trusted myself and did it!
Delete