One may not remember all the meals his mother has cooked over the years, but they were nourishing

Energize the Usual

Years ago I came across these words which I have taken to heart. In theory if not always in practice. I offer them here for your consideration:

It is wiser, I believe, to energize the usual than to schedule the unusual – that is, to look more to doing better those functions of the ministry that are basic to our calling: leading worship, preaching the word, visiting, counseling, administering the business program of the church. To slight these fundamental services while casting about for some gala event that will provide instant invigoration is to forget that the ordinary over the years has proved more useful to God than the spectacular (Where Cross the Crowded Ways, Earnest Campbell, page 8).

"Energize the usual" ... "the ordinary over the years has proved more useful to God than the spectacular." Not only do I acknowledge this point of view, but I believe it. One may not remember all the meals his mother has cooked over the years, but they were nourishing. And one may not recall details of sermons and services long after the benediction, but they are valuable, too. Which is a sound argument, not only for scheduling regular services, but also for attending them.

                                                                                                                   - Lanny Henniger

Austin, Texas