We had an interesting exchange in our staff meeting today. The question was whether or not to “require” staff people to attend the upcoming Refiner’s Fire that’s on our schedule for later this week.
It’s certainly not that people don’t want to gather, but it’s the never ending battle of balancing life’s demands and priorities that seems to get in the way. As one of our staff members said, it comes down to choices.
That phrase reminded me of something that has always guided my personal posture toward public worship gatherings. In the words of King David in Psalm 34 he says “I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise will always be on my lips.” Throughout this Psalm David laments some of the circumstances that he’s facing, but his choice to worship the Lord is something that is not debatable.
All of us are under a fair amount of pressure to make decisions as to whether or not we’ll make the time to be with God’s people to worship. I personally find there are few activities more energizing, refreshing and faith building than a praise and worship gathering and I take my place, and encourage you to do the same, alongside the greatest worshiper of the Old Testament: King David when he said “I will bless the Lord at all times!”
When I first came to North Way, I surprised at the amount of freedom that the staff had. In the churches I grew up in, if you held any position in the church (including janitor) you were required to attend everything. To miss something required approval ahead of time. While I do not think this is necessary - I would question why anyone would not WANT to attend Refiners Fire. I am always eager for the next one.
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