100 Days to a Healthier ChurchSample

Day 40

Today’s Big Idea: TOSS anything that diverts your attention. It’s exciting to start a new ministry. It’s brutally hard to say goodbye to an old one. But we must. On spring cleaning day, you may rediscover long-lost treasures as you dig deep into shelves, cupboards, and closets. It’s tempting to want to keep all of it. But one of the central principles of spring cleaning is to get rid of the clutter. First to go are items that can’t be fixed or haven’t been used in a long time.

Key Verse: So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables” (Acts 6:2, emphasis mine).

Thoughts to Consider: Feeding widows was an essential ministry, but it wasn’t what the apostles were called to do. So they made the hard, but necessary decision to Toss it from their to-do list. (Don’t worry, as we’ll see tomorrow, the widows weren’t forgotten.) It needed to be done, but not by them.

No church can do everything. We can’t meet every need, function in every ministry, or make everyone happy. When we try to do it all we fail at what we should and could be doing well. One of the foundational building blocks of a church that is pursuing their calling with excellence is regularly making the hard decision to Toss what they don’t do well.

What do we need to TOSS because it isn’t being done well and can’t be fixed—at least for now?: