Decide Less

Communication Card prayer request: "God help me follow through on my resolution 52 times at church in 2014..." Do you think this might have more of an impact than losing a few pounds?

My observation: people don't do well spiritually when they stop participating in corporate worship or attend with high irregularity.

Sometimes there are really powerful reasons for non-attendance. And some people are exceptions, finding Christian fellowship and service in other ways. I've known a couple of people who were thriving spiritually while not attending corporate worship gatherings regularly...for a while.

But for most of us mortals, missing corporate worship is usually due to spiritual drifting, and it's usually spiritually stunting and hazardous.

It's hard to tell people that showing up for corporate worship every week is really important without sounding like a legalist. But it is no more legalistic to make corporate worship a priority in life then it is to have a daily quiet time of Bible reflection and prayer.

How does a person keep this resolution. In part, by deciding less. Decide once that this is what you will do every week. Decide once TO attend every week. Then the only other decision is NOT to attend when you have a really good reason. Don't ever decide whether or not to attend on the weekend. 

I wish a lot more people would make this resolution. It could have significant results.

A pastor friend asked several of us to recommend one book that’s not the Bible for his reading plan for this year.

ONE book! That’s tough.

I’m going to say Tim Keller, Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith.  One of my all-time favorites. But more than anything, if you haven’t read Keller, it introduces you to his writing. But it’s a favorite because it addresses the centrality of the gospel in the most unique and refreshing way.

If you’ve read that one, then a more challenging but incredible book is Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in the Age of Skepticism. You’ll not only be encouraged, but you’ll draw on it for sermons for years.

And if you’ve read those two, my suggestion is a good overview of the Bible from a biblical theology standpoint. Two very accessible but good books for that are Tim Chester, From Creation to New Creation: Making Sense of the Whole Bible Story, or Vaughan Roberts, God's Big Picture: Tracing the storyline of the Bible.

I didn't have a lot of time to think about it, but what would you recommend?