This was a post on our church pastors’ blog (although “pastor’s” might be more accurate as I’m the only one who ever posts – yes, Kirk, Mark, and Tim that was a slam on you – in love, though) but I thought I’d post it here too.
One of the benefits of taking notes when reading through a book is the ability to go back very quickly and revisit some of its ideas without having to do a full reread. I’ve been reading through my notes of a book I read a few years back and absolutely loved, R. Paul Stevens’ The Other Six Days: Vocation, Work, and Ministry in Biblical Perspective (here’s my original blog post). Many Christians wrongly view their experiences of Sunday worship as punctuation so that Sunday becomes sacred beginning (or ending) while the rest of the week remains secular. I wouldn’t argue that Sunday isn’t a special day; certainly the gathering of the redeemed people of God for corporate worship is a special event. I would only argue, with Stevens, that it is not the division between the sacred and secular parts of our week, but rather the event that turns the whole of our weeks into sacred days. It is the time in which we are nurtured together to then be sent out to all the different places God has called us. Here’s how he put it:
“The church, like the gathering and dispersion of blood in the body, is a rhythm of gathering (ekklesia) and dispersion (diaspora)…The church gathered must not be separated from the church dispersed any more than the heart and lungs can be separated from the body. Gathered, the blood is cleansed and oxygenated. Sent out, it fights diseases and energizes” (p. 211).”
So come and go, Church. Come to be energized, equipped, and encouraged; then go and be salt, light, and priest to those around you.
