Last week I called my pharmacy to have a couple of prescriptions refilled. The pharmacist took my name, date of birth, and said, “You will have to check with your doctor before I can refill your medications.”

So, I called the doctor’s office. I explained to the nurse what I needed to refill my prescriptions. She put me on hold. When she came back to the phone, she said, “To refill your prescriptions, the doctor wants to check your heart, blood, and cholesterol. He wants to assess any changes so he can make necessary adjustments to your medications. You know he wants you to be as healthy as you can be.”

Later that day, after I had complained about the inconvenience and unnecessary cost of a doctor’s appointment, I began to reflect upon the ministry of the churches in the Capitol Area South District.

It is time to check the effectiveness of our ministries. What necessary adjustments do we need to make to be healthy disciples of Jesus Christ? What is the current reality of our churches in living out the mission?

The Reality of Missional Questions

Several months ago, I asked you to engage the leadership of your congregation in answering 7 Missional Questions. These Missional Questions are a tool to help assess the assets and needs of your community. The reality is, you can’t be engaged with the people in your community if you don’t know the assets and needs of your community. The questions lead me to ask you now:

What is the reality of your relationship with the community in which your congregation is located?
What adjustments does your congregation need to make to be engaged?
Is your congregation missionally focused or preference driven?
Are you focused on purpose or on personality?

If you and your congregational leaders have not participated in answering the 7 Missional Questions, now is a good time to begin. Then, return to the above questions.

Get Real

After I stopped complaining about the inconvenience and unnecessary cost of a doctor’s appointment, I realized that the doctor was truly concerned about my health. It was a reality check.

It is time for a reality check in our local congregations, too.

So let me ask you: What is the current health of your local congregation?

One way I know you can continue to be healthy or grow towards health is by focusing on Jesus and God’s presence. I invite you and your congregation to participate in the discipline of reading, reflecting, and responding to scripture this Lent. For the forty days of Lent, plus Sundays, I invite you to Get Real.

This continues our focus on the first missional question, “Where do you see God in your community?” It helps us continue to grow our relationship with Christ, our awareness of God’s movement in our local context, and helps us respond to the reality that God is with us.

If we are to be focused on fulfilling the mission of making disciples and transforming the world, the first step we need to take together is being centered on Jesus. Lent is a season you can claim this focus. It’s also a great time for a congregational health check-up.

So, tell me, how is your health? It is time to get real!