Enthusiasm

I had an awesome time getting together for lunch with my friend Mike Silliman the pastor of Elk Creek Church in West Grove. Things really seem to be going well for them. He has an inspiring way about him. You can tell he has an entrepreneurial spirit which is so important for a church planter. Pray for Mike and his wife Naomi. Planting a church in the northeast is tough stuff. Mike is one of the most enthusiastic pastors I know.

I spoke to our team this week about enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is the passionate interest in, or eagerness to do something. Enthusiasm is contagious. I think of all our volunteers that show up every Sunday to get things going. These guys meet at 6:45 for breakfast and then head over to join others as they unload our trailers for set-up. Our volunteers are some seriously enthusiastic people!

Have you given any thought lately to what kind of spirit you project? Paul warned us to not get “weary doing good things.” The truth is we all get tired. This is a stressful season for many of us. The good news is that we have someone that walks with us in our stress and fatigue. Every week we have people walking into our service who are spiritually alone. They are searching. They watch us to see what we are like…how weird are we? Are we into this thing or are we just going through the motions like other religions?

You see your enthusiasm on Sunday matters. The smile on your face and the energy that you display project something that is in your heart. A warm greeting and handshake send a message to someone who might be lost and looking for their way home. Your passion for following Jesus matters. Not the weirdo-hyper-fundamentalist-passion, I have seen enough of that to last a lifetime. I’m talking about the “I was lost and Jesus found me” passion…the “he accepted me and all my junk” passion…the “He is changing my life” passion. It will disarm people…people who don’t like church…people who have given up on religion but not given up on God.

So bring your passion with you Sunday, bring your enthusiasm! Remember it’s not about us, but about reaching out. It is the reason for this season!