It’s the holidays—a time of year when churches are often on the move and active in a community. Anytime a church is in motion and doing something in the community, that action reveals something of the character and nature of the church and her mission. But what if a church decides to lay low? What if little to no movement is taking place at all? Is this a “bad” thing for a church? Shouldn’t we all be doing something???

We live in a culture defined by motion and noise. The bigger the motion and the louder the noise, the more people stop to take notice—just check out your favorite Black Friday YouTube video for examples of motion and noise over the holiday. We’re all human and sometimes we can start chasing noise for all the wrong reasons. That’s why I believe it’s critical for churches to first ask if the lack of motion is really such a bad thing.

What does it say about a church that decides to loaf over the holiday? The word “loaf” has received a bad rap in our society. A loafer is seen as a lazy person in a culture that is obsessed with work and productivity. If the loafer isn’t doing anything to contribute to his or her own financial well-being, then the assumption is that something must be wrong with them (which may or may not be true). As working and being a productive member of society, you could make an argument that maybe Jesus’ was a loafer. Yikes! [Read more…]