"What kind of church would my church be, if everyone in it was just like me?"  

Have you ever heard that question? I think I saw it first on a church message board sign, and I have never forgotten it. It's the kind of corny, cutesy message that the world has come to expect from our church marquees, and it's a classic for obvious reasons: it shuts up the complainers, it makes excellent use of guilt, and of course, it rhymes. What more do you need in a church cliché?

Nonetheless, it does make a good point. And it does keep you off your spiritual high-horse when you look around and wonder why everyone else just doesn't get it, spiritually speaking. A quick glance in the mirror and we're all reminded that we're one of "them" and that the best place to start if you want to make improvements in your church is the person looking back at you in the mirror.

So, what's the spiritual "temperature" at The Church at Shelby Crossings? May I suggest you put the thermometer beneath your own tongue first. How friendly are we as a church? That depends: how friendly are you? How many people are we reaching for Christ? Count how many you have reached in the past year. How strong is our prayer ministry, and how vibrant our worship? Check yourself and see. How much "one-another" ministry is being done in the body? About as much as you're doing.

The simple reality, once again, is that we are the church. Sinners, all of us, and all too often spiritually frustrated and not terribly motivated. The good news, however, is that God has been using broken sinners like us to do His ministry for centuries, and He's not through with us yet. What kind of church is your church? A church where anybody, willing and open to the work of God in his or her life, can be used to bring about eternal things for the kingdom of God.

May your life--and our church--be a clean and usable "temple of the Holy Spirit" this week, willing and ready to do God's work. You just might be surprised what He can do in you, and in us, when we make ourselves available to Him.

I'm praying for you today, as I hope you are for me, and I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

--Pastor Ken