Those reading this who attend church regularly know that you can get very busy with church – even to the point of having practically no time left for anything else. I’ve grown up my whole life going to church every week – usually twice on Sunday and once on Wednesday evening. For a good chunk of that time I helped every week with the music, and that means getting there early for every service as well as coming in for a practice on another night during the week. (Sometimes Sundays don’t end up seeming very restful.) On top of that, if you’re in a Bible study or small group of some sort, there’s another night of the week that you’re busy with church folks. You could join the men’s or women’s group or a leadership team of some sort, add in another Bible study or small group for good measure, and have five nights of the week absorbed within the Church. I’ve been almost that busy with church stuff before. Sometimes you can become so surrounded by the church that you are effectively isolated from everything else.

There’s quite a contrast between that and my current situation here in Seattle. Not that it was a huge shock; God let me know before I got out here that this would be a time of clarified focus, with many of my normal activities trimmed out. The church I’m going to has a single service that is held a couple of times during the weekend; my roommate Scott and I tend to go to the Sunday evening service. Just one service a week, and I’m not even helping with anything at church. Given the fact that I often have to work or be on call on the weekends while I’m out here, it would be difficult to make any commitment at church anyway.

Now don’t get me wrong. I love being involved with the worship team at church back home. I love the small group I’m part of in Michigan; the people there are such an encouragement to me, and I miss them a bunch! We always meet with God in such a special way, and I look forward to that evening so much. (Earlier last year, I actually cut back from being involved with *four* small groups – they all had people I loved to see and share with – but that was a little excessive!)

Here’s another take on the church thing. Dr. Lance Wallnau (LanceLearning.net) talks about something he calls the Seven Mountain strategy. Historically, a large majority of Christians have focused on and centered around the organization of the church – either by vocation or avocation. Even those of us not working directly for the church often spend much of our time and energy at church or on church-related activities. On top of this, we tend to almost belittle other pursuits – thinking that going into full-time ministry is following the highest possible call. This mindset seems to be at least partly responsible for the position we find ourselves in today, where Christians have little voice in politics, news, entertainment, and a number of other areas. Lance talks about what could happen if each of us pursue the talents and dreams God has given us – outside of the church. Of course we wouldn’t want to swing from one extreme to another… However, he goes on to outline seven areas of influence that shape our culture: Religion, Family, Education, Government, Media, Arts and Entertainment, and Business. His advice is to become an expert in your field, a leader in your sphere of influence, and then use that platform – once you’ve earned the attention and respect of others – to change the world around you. I’ve tried to think about what this would mean – what this would look like – for a Christian musician, and it’s not an easy question. As with many other questions and balancing acts in the Christian life, I think it’s something that each of us need to seek wisdom and revelation on from God.

Anyway, what do you think? Should we be mostly involved with the church and church culture, or is it better to have more availability to be involved in the world outside those four walls? Though I personally suspect that the right level of involvement varies from person to person or even for a particular person at different stages in life, I’d really love to hear your thoughts on this!