The Rangers were no-hit last night by a trio of Astros pitchers you’ve never heard of in a disheartening 9-0 shutout loss that extends their losing streak to four games and has Texas one loss away from falling into fourth place in the AL West. The Rangers are just impossible to watch right now; they’re not even competitive. Multiple fielding and base-running errors, strikeouts with runners in scoring position, weak pop ups, double-digit runners left on base–it’s putrid. And tons of injuries. Seager, Josh Smith, and Wyatt are still out; none of the Rangers who started last night’s game were starters on Opening Day. It’s hard to argue that this is not a bad team. Like really bad. I think it’s going to be a long summer.

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It’s time for you to take a principled stand against boring church! There’s no excuse for boring church! We shouldn’t allow it and you shouldn’t put up with it!

Why is church boring? It’s our fault. We did it. Somehow, over the decades, we allowed church to become a spectator event. We turned church into a show. So, the members of the church walk away from the church service judging it. Talking about whether they were “fed” or whether the songs were “moving” or whether the preacher was “relevant” or whether they “felt” anything.

Hey! You’re not a spectator in church! You are a Holy Spirit-filled participant! You should take that God-ordained role back!

The Bible tells us that every single member of God’s Church is blessed with Holy Spirit gifts intended to build up the Body of Christ. When we come together in Lord’s Day assembly, God means for us to bless one another with the gifts he’s given us. God intends for us to love somebody. He wants us to encourage somebody. He wants us to build somebody up.

So, this Sunday, go to church with that expectation. You know what your gift is. Your know what your gifts are. You know what you’re good at. And you know God gave that to you in order to bless somebody else. So, use it this Sunday. Go to church with your gift to build somebody up. Say something unexpected and super nice to somebody who’s not going to see it coming. Compliment somebody on their clothes or their smile. Tell somebody how much they inspire you. Tell somebody “Thank you” for something they did for you a long time ago. Offer to hold a fidgety baby. Hold the door open for like twelve people in a row. Go to church with a commitment to be a blessing and an encouragement to people. Every Sunday. Forget about what you might or might not be “getting” and embrace the role God intends for you during church and start “giving” and “blessing” and “building up.”

What might happen?

I’m not sure.

But it won’t be boring.

Peace,
Allan