Show Up

http://www.businesstemplatesz.org

Have you ever spent hours and hours preparing for an event--invitations sent, rsvp's gathered, party supplies purchased, decorations put up, food prepared, table settings laid, equipment hired, time invested--and then nobody shows up?

 My husband tries to invite students from each of his classes over to our house for dinner once a semester. A few years ago, he decided to invite his freshman biology class. I was a little wary because everyone knows that freshmen are flaky, but I agreed to prepare a meal if he'd get a headcount of who was coming. About ten students signed up, so I prepared accordingly. By the time the day of the meal had arrived, the count had dropped to seven or so. That night, as dinner sat on the table, getting cold, I was certain my doubts were confirmed. Then the door bell rang. One lone, single, solitary, very awkward feeling student showed up for dinner that night. The upside was that at least one person showed up and I didn't have to cook for several days. The downside was that I decided no more dinners for freshmen.

While this episode is just kind of funny in retrospect, I thought about it again today when I went to a play date organized by the new preschool minister at my church. One thing after another led to us getting out the door later than I wanted. As I walked in 20 after the play date was scheduled to start, I apologized for being late only to realize--I was the only one who showed up. Though it was great to get to visit with the new preschool minister and my daughter had a good time playing on a playground close to the church, I am sure that our preschool minister felt slightly discouraged. One is better than none, but one is not enough. One is not enough to create a group, a ministry, a church, or a regular event. Good things can come from one on one, but not these things.

There is one job that we can all do in our church family, almost no matter who we are, and that job is--SHOW UP. Without all of us doing this job, the hard work that church ministers, volunteers, Sunday school teachers, even the church janitor, do are demeaned and belittled. As Christians, we have made a commitment to be a part of our church family. Being together and supporting each other should be our priority. Sure, there are sometimes things that interfere with us being able to participate in certain church events. That's life. But we should also have commitments to be there for events organized by the people and ministries that put these things together to serve US. This goes beyond filling the pew on Sunday morning. This means that if we have a child, we make it a priority to attend Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, Family Nights, whatever it is that our church does to serve our kids. If we are part of a small group we make it a priority to attend that group. If our church is having a church wide fellowship or there is a business meeting, we go. It's that simple.

Showing up is the easiest, least demanding role we can fulfill in our church family and the most important. Not only does showing up respect the commitment we've made to our brothers and sisters in Christ, but it helps us grow as Christians. If we're having a hard time showing up to be with our church family, we need to re-evaluate our priorities. What's getting in the way of our commitment to being with our spiritual family? Is it a TV program? Over-commitment in other areas of life? Tiredness? Laziness? Stress? Apathy? Whatever it is, we need to ruthlessly uproot that thing that is keeping us from showing up.

Solomon writes,"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another" (Proverbs 27:17). When nobody gets together, there's not much sharpening going on. Being present for church events is one way that we can "sharpen" each other. It is also a way that we can keep our ministers "sharp". It also is a way to keep ourselves "sharp". So, if you've been feeling a little dull lately, try showing up.