It's a Monday, no doubt about it. Mondays are the hardest for me. Coming into the office after a day of worship and fellowship...it's really quite a downer. I love worship with my people and the worship at our church is just so awesome and real! It's one of the things that I look forward to the most each week. It's an encouragement, a boost, an attitude changer and a difference maker all rolled into one. Then comes Monday!

Usually, because I'm a pastor, Mondays begin with a lot of concerns on my mind. There are prayer requests and personal requests. They begin for our staff almost from the time we arrive there on Sunday. They serve as reminders that we live in a fallen world and that we battle a real enemy who doesn't want to give us up. I see the hurt in people's hearts and feel the sadness in their voices. I hurt for these people and long to "fix" their problems. Of course, there are all the practical concerns as well--did the worship flow well, did we accomplish our goal, who were the new faces and all the logistics of a "portable" church. It's a lot to consider from week-to-week. Honestly, on some days, I just want permission from God to not to care and not to think about it. But I can't. I love my people. I love the "Ridgies"--those people who have pledged themselves and committed themselves to God's glory in our fellowship.

I love the smiles on their faces. I love their precious attitudes. I love the love they have for each other and the new faces that God brings our way. I love their occasional "complaints" because I know their desire to see Ridgeview be better and grow deeper. I love the young families that literally dance through our door on some mornings (other mornings it can be a little less than a waltz). I love the men and ladies who arrive early to set up and stay late to tear down. I love the ones who pray with me on Sunday before we begin, the volunteers who lead us in our worship, the ladies who "dress" up our set up each week, and the many hands that bless our children while we worship. I love so much about what God is doing in our church...

...so it's no wonder that the enemy hates us. It's no wonder that he would do anything he could to take our focus off of God and put it back on ourselves. That's why he makes us so tired and sleepy and lazy on Sunday. He knows we need the worship and fellowship. That's why he loves it when our sentences start to begin with "But my family needs..." He knows that focusing on ourselves insures we will never focus on those who need Christ. That's why he talks us out of giving our time and resources and makes us think that we are too busy (busier than everybody else in Franklin). Overwhelmed believers are easy to keep defeated. So, we all must move through our Mondays. I don't have permission to quit; neither do you. I don't have permission to withdraw; neither do you. I don't have permission to stop caring about hurting lives, lost hearts and frustrated people; neither do you. So, let the Mondays come. Two things I know: God will always be God and, till He comes again, there will always come another Sunday with my RCC family.