You have no idea of the temptations I face Sunday mornings, especially in the summer.
In the few weeks of pleasant weather Minnesota affords in this season, it is vitally important that I squeeze in all the golf I can.
Because soon I'll be back in jail: Minnesota winter.
Plus, most of the golf I play at my club involves outreach to some salty characters who could use a good dose of Jesus in their lives. I love these guys and feel called to them. Often.
So that leaves me with about two Sundays/month for church attendance between May and October. And that's not even factoring in excursions out of town with family and friends.
But wait a second. There's actually a different way to do church, different from what I've said above.
And that is to place it at the head of the line -- the top of the priority list -- before golf and all the other distractions which I so easily justify.
This prioritizing is what Sharon and I have tried to do.
Not that we never miss church. We do, on occasion.
But worship and fellowship with God's people -- with "our" God's people, where we find our sense of Christian identity and place of service -- is indispensable for the Christian life. We cannot live (properly) without it.
I have no interest in turning this principle into a legality.
But the spirit of the thing, the spirit of active participation, of being there -- yes, even of some sense of duty (an old fashioned word that I hope will make a comeback), is what really counts.
I hope to see you in the house of God this weekend.
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