100 Days to a Healthier ChurchSample

Day 17 Today’s Big Idea: Remember how you felt on Day 1. At this point in the process, it’s possible to fall into the trap of assessing the church as though it’s something detached from you. It’s so easy to think, “The problem with the church is . . . ” or “The pastor should be doing more of . . . ” or “I hope that person is paying attention to . . .” The big problem with such feelings is that they’re pointed in the wrong direction—outwardly not inwardly. The church is not out there, it’s in here. It’s not them, it’s us. It’s me. The sooner we can recognize that, the sooner real, healthy change can take place. Today’s exercise is to think back a few weeks to how you felt and what you thought about your church before this entire process began. I know, it seems like this should have been done on Day One, or even earlier. But if we had taken too much time to consider our feelings before considering God’s will, it would have been hard, if not impossible, for our feelings not to become our priority. Again. Instead, now that we’ve framed everything through the lens of God’s will, let’s take some time to think back and remember what you felt and thought about the church and your role in it. Were you Hopeful? Confused? Enthused? Depressed? Cautious? Motivated? Overworked? Uninspired? Inspired? Or something else entirely? In considering your previous thoughts and feelings, don’t just select words from this list. It’s only there to provide a few examples. Take a few minutes to remember how you felt. To prompt your memory, consider: What did you say in private conversations about the church? What was your understanding about the church’s past? Your feelings about its present state? Your expectations for its future? How did you react when you were asked to serve on the Core Leadership Team? Write those ideas down. Make a list, write in full paragraphs, use bullet points, whatever works for you. The format doesn’t matter. This list is yours. No one else will ever see it unless you choose to show it to them. Key Verse: Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day (Deuteronomy 5:15). Thoughts to Consider: After God brought the Hebrews out of slavery, He met with Moses to give him the Ten Commandments. One of those commandments was to take a Sabbath-day rest. Imagine how that felt to people who had spent four hundred years in slavery, when one of God’s top ten rules was “Take a day off!” But note that in the explanation for this command, God tells them that one of the ways to use that day was to remember where they had come from—specifically, to remember their former slavery. This command is repeated regularly throughout the Old Testament, but this is the first time, and it came just a few months after their release from bondage. God knew they needed to remember where they had been so they could appreciate where they were going. This is why we need to take a few moments doing the same thing right now: remembering where we were. Even if it doesn’t feel like we’re free yet (the Hebrews were a long way from the Promised Land at this point) it’s never too early to remember where we’re coming from.