Is Church Like Dairy Queen (Grill and Chill?)

A minister was recently saying that for some people church is sort of like Dairy Queen. My dad used to take my brother and me every Sunday night to Dairy Queen in the convertible car. It was like a “cap” to the end of the week to give us that treat when we were small. I’m glad I was very thin back then and I could eat ice cream! It was neat in the summer going on rides in the convertible. I guess a minister is saying that church is sort of like a end cap.

I really enjoyed our “family” time. We also spent a lot of time sitting on our back porch together in the summer. My favorite sanctuary now is my back porch swing.

I was talking to someone recently and they told me when they go to church, they like to duck in and out because they are in customer service during the week so they are not interested in fellowship. It’s really the opposite for me. Even when I was married, I enjoyed the fellowship afterwards. The church my spouse and I attended they had coffee and we would stand around and get coffee and fellowship with other couples in the church right after the service It was a nice “catch up” with them. I really miss that fellowship with couples.

Some people have complained to me that they go to Life Groups, but can’t get people to socialize much outside of a small study. They said in other countries people are more “people friendly” but they think in our society we are too busy.

I look to partner at a church. I’ve done some homeless ministries lately, and I found a small church in the Fountain Square area that does homeless ministries and nursing home ministries where I can partner in evangelism. A few years back, I partnered with a single’s pastor to do worship for a single’s ministry and socials at my house. He put my phone number down as a contact person.

I think it was Smith Wigglesworth who said that many people feed their body three good meals a day and their spirit one cold snack on Sunday.

When I go to church at times I get milk, vegetables or meat spiritually. I get most of my steak dinners on TBN and Daystar television. If I go eat a steak dinner at Outback or Texas Roadhouse for $50 then it’s nothing for me to pay for a steak dinner at a restaurant. Should it be any different at church? I’m a partner in the gospel. I think the most my spouse and I ever spent was at Ruth Chris Steakhouse or Red Lobster for the whole family was $150 or $200 so I can write a check to church because the whole family got ministered there. If I go get my nails done it’s around $60 to do that.

It’s neat to support a person to go to Haiti and bring fresh water treatment and know we can partner with that person in our finances. I don’t always get to go, but we can be the one sending. Paul talked about “my God” will supply all your needs after they partnered with him in an offering.

But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus Philip. 4:18-19

There were many times my spouse and I did not eat out very much, did not take elaborate vacations, and I never got my nails done because we had six children at home we were feeding. A lot of it is setting priorities.

Where are our priorities at when it comes to what we do, and what we spend our money on. I know people who golf and it’s $50.00 at times in green fees. Another one is concerts, they are very expensive. Do we see God’s ministry as a priority? One of my big expenses is gas for boating so the last two years I’ve cut down on boating, but I’ve not cut down on my giving to church.

Anyway to me, church is more like home base, like my house was at times. At times my house was like a war zone in raising teenagers or having certain people live in my home.

It’s always nice to have a “home” base. It’s where we feel safe. When we play baseball, the object of the game is to get to home base. In some sports, it’s to get to our field goal.

It sort of reminds me of the first Star Wars where Princess Leia is trying to carry the plans of the Death Star back to her home planet of Alderaan, but it gets blown up. It’s so they can launch an attack on the ship. It’s like having a launching pad for X-wing fighters.

I was in this group called, “Christ is the Answer” when I was 19 years old, where we did street evangelism every day. I was on the v-squad they called it where we witnessed in front of and picketed pornography shops on Friday and Saturday night.

It was always nice to come home back to our base camp after a full day of street evangelism. I enjoyed being with 250 other evangelists. Most of them were evangelists, we had a few people who were more called to helps ministry in the kitchen or mechanics crew.

When we are married, it’s nice when we feel “safe” at our own home. We go to bed at night and feel safe in our husband’s arms. Home is a haven where a weary soldier can come back to and rest after a long day at the office or out in the battlefield. A weary soldier can’t wait to come home to the US from Iraq.

At times in the Civil War, people wanted to come back early before they were released, but they would be deserters. That is one thing nice about God’s army, is that we don’t shoot or Court Marshall others for desertion.

I left ministry for quite a few years – pulled out of the race because of a divorce. Sometimes I’ve pulled myself out purposely. I did not pull out this time after losing a spouse. At times, I’m back to those “first works” like it talks about in the book of Revelation.

Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. Revelation 2:5

Like the prodigal son, the Father is always looking and waiting for the wayward son to come home. With Peter, Jesus actually went looking for Peter and Jesus cooked his disciple’s breakfast. We are told if a brother bids us to go one mile, we are to go two miles for our brethren.

If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Matthew 5:41