Why? When I was little, I used to ask this wonderful question of my parents in quick succession. I can imagine the scenes of my childhood even now.
“Clean your room, Jeremiah.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s dirty.”
“Why?”
“CLEAN YOUR ROOM!”
“Why?”
“BECAUSE I SAID SO!”
Granted, I deserved the obvious tone at the end, right? It’s obvious I was using the one-word question to be annoying to my mother. But the question why doesn’t have to be bad. In fact, it can be very good. This was my point in starting a little series in our bulletin each week titled, Why Do We Do This.
Did you know that every part of our worship service is done intentionally, with a specific purpose in mind? Music and prayer, placement and order, and preaching are all done holding Scripture as our rule of thumb in deciding what we do. At the risk of being too obvious, my hope is that as we continue the Why Do We Do This series, we can become more aware of why we do the things we do in worship. But that’s not where I want it to end.
My ministry style is defined by this concept. I do things the way I do them because I believe they are in line with God’s Word. The take home for y’all is this: ask me why! Y’all can always ask why I am going about something the way I am going about it. If I can’t answer it well, perhaps your why will help me articulate it better, change it up, or stop doing whatever the why was about. I find that to be extremely freeing, and y’all should, too!
As we celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation this year, it is nice to remember one of the initial cries from those reformers, “Ad fontes!” Literally, to the fountains! What it means is “go back to the source!” Go back to where the water begins. For Christians, this is Jesus Christ—God! And Jesus reveals Himself to us in the Bible. May we be people who cry, “Ad fontes! Back to the source!
It’s okay to ask why of the church. Why do we do the things we do? That’s how we grow together in light of God’s Word. But I also want y’all to ask questions of yourselves. Why do you attend Centennial? Why do you do the things you do throughout the week? As we begin (and continue) to “own” who we are at, as we begin (and continue) to have “well thought out” answers to the questions of why we do the things we do, and as we begin (and continue) to serve God where he has placed us at Centennial, may we seek God’s glory always! Blessings to you all,
Jeremiah