This week we started a brand new message series in worship. I can’t tell you the last time I was this excited about starting a new message series.  I am giddy with anticipation of giving the community one important message: The real work of God happens outside of the church.

The truth is that many of us (myself included) have put far too much emphasis on Sunday morning. I track attendance, I look at trends, I even try to predict what the attendance is going to be on some mornings. I do this all to my own detriment, and to the detriment of the universal church. The universal church, or what we commonly call the Kingdom of God, doesn’t care about Sunday mornings. The Kingdom of God cares about the people who don’t know Jesus, or who aren’t following Him with a whole heart.

The best thing that we could do for the church is to be the church outside of the building, to pour into people, and to serve those who are different from us. The reality is that most of us come to church on Sunday to celebrate God, which is a good thing. But I wonder how Sunday morning would look if we were really there to celebrate what God did through us Monday through Saturday.

The next couple of weeks at Centerville UMC are called “Basecamp #churchwithoutwalls” and we will know if we are successful if we get everyone to remember one thing: The church is the basecamp for the peaks God has ahead of you in your life. The church should be your respite, your support, and  the place you visit in between climbs. Your climbs are where you get to do the real work of God.

Basecamps are fun, but the view from the peak is miraculous.