My social media feeds have been full of Easter family photos since yesterday. Pastors I know have been posting about all the Lord did in their church services and I have been rejoicing with them at the lives changed and Gospel seeds planted.

As a pastor, I can tell you that we look forward to Easter Sunday.
We look forward most of all to celebrating the empty tomb and worshipping the Risen Savior with God’s people.
We look forward to being a part of the worship service that we, our staff, and volunteers have spent so much time planning and preparing for and we pray it makes much of Jesus while making the Gospel crystal clear.
We look forward to seeing all the guests, family members, and friends that will visit.
We look forward to seeing faces we haven’t seen since last year.

What I have heard many pastors say is that we do not look forward to the day (or even the week) after Easter. For many of us, seeing a full church service makes our hearts full because we want as many people as possible to hear the message of Jesus. We rejoice not only in our local church being full, but in the countless churches across the country who experienced the same thing! Then we wake up Monday morning to the reality that more than likely, this coming Sunday we will see “normal” church attendance again.

In the past, I have internally (and maybe a little bit out loud as well) been frustrated with the many who only choose to attend church on Christmas and Easter (sometimes referred to as CEO Christians). However, this year I was personally convicted about that grumbling spirit. Not because I think it’s okay for a Christian to only gather with God’s people for worship twice per year, but because I found that I was more willing to complain about them than I was to pray for and continue seeking to minister to them beyond Easter Sunday.

What if we didn’t view Easter as simply a Sunday where we see a spike in attendance, but an opportunity to identify those we should be seeking to reach? If someone was willing to come to church on Easter, doesn’t that mean that there’s at least somewhat of an opening to share the Gospel? How many of us follow up with the people we invited to Easter? How many of us see Easter, not as our “one chance” to get them in church for them to hear the Gospel, but as a day where the Lord blesses us with a chance to “cast the net of the Gospel” wide? A day where we can be on the lookout for those we need to be more intentional with in the coming days? What if our focus was not on how far our attendance will drop this Sunday and was instead on how many people gave us an invitation to continue praying for them and sharing the Gospel with them?

I hope my ‘Monday morning after Easter’ ramblings are not only making sense, but challenging you as they have done to me. Who did you invite to Easter Sunday? How will you continue sharing Christ with them? Who did you see at church on Easter that you haven’t seen in a while? What if you bought them lunch to see how you can come alongside them and encourage them to come back to church? How can we see Easter, not as the final fruits of our labor, but the beginning of our ministry for the rest of the year?

This is a short blog excerpt from a longer podcast episode. Watch the full podcast episode here: https://youtu.be/2K1kRV1PCho

Busyness is one of the number one things people bring up when we talk about serving at church or personal spiritual disciplines. When you ask someone how they are doing, one of the most common answers is, “I’m busy.” I hear it all the time, and it’s often the answer I give myself. We almost view busyness as a measure of success. If I have a lot to do, it means I have responsibility, I’m productive, maybe even successful. It can feel like a badge of honor. But if we’re honest, most people don’t really want to be busy—they wish they were better at prioritizing their life.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had multiple conversations about this. Especially with Christian men, balancing a relationship with Christ, family, job, and church responsibilities can feel impossible. We know the order of priorities: first, a follower of Christ; second, husband; third, father; fourth, pastor. But knowing the priorities and living them out in your calendar are two very different things.

We’ve all had seasons of being overwhelmed. No matter your life situation, there are times when you feel, “There’s too much going on. I am too busy. I am overwhelmed.” And that’s okay. There’s no need to feel guilty. But here’s something I’ve heard years ago that has stuck with me: if you’ve been overwhelmingly busy for more than a few months, it’s probably not a season. It’s a lifestyle. If that’s the case, you need to address the structure of your life and make lifestyle changes, not temporary fixes.

Inevitably, when life gets busy, the most important things get pushed out. For most of us, and myself included, the first things to go are quiet time with the Lord, time in His Word, and prayer. That’s the very thing that should never be pushed aside. We must structure our lives so that the most important things come first, regardless of busyness.

There’s a popular illustration I like: imagine a glass container. If you put sand in first, then little rocks, and then try to fit big rocks, there won’t be room for the big rocks. But if you put the big rocks first—the most important things—then the sand and little rocks fill in the spaces. That’s how we need to approach our lives: big rocks first, then everything else fits around them.

This brings me to the key question I want you to ask: How do I be most faithful to what matters most right now? Not, how do I do it all, or manage this busy season, but how do I be faithful in the moment, to the priorities God has set? This question is a biblical principle, reflected in Ephesians 5:15-16: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” God’s call isn’t worldly success; it’s faithfulness.

Here’s a practical exercise I’ve learned from a mentor: write out your vocations—your callings, roles, and responsibilities—in order of priority. For me, it looks like this: Christ follower first, husband second, father third, pastor fourth. Under each vocation, write what an ideal, faithful week looks like. As a Christ follower, how much time will you spend in the Word? In prayer? In spiritual disciplines? As a husband, what does a faithful week look like? As a parent, what does it look like to be fully present with your children?

Seasons change, so these specifics may change too. But the principle stays the same: you plan intentionally. Look at your calendar before the week begins. Ask, am I setting myself up to be most faithful to what matters most? Sometimes that means saying no to things that are important or even urgent but take you away from your highest priorities. I recently had to cancel two pastor gatherings because if I attended, it would have cut into my family time. It was hard, but it was the faithful choice.

Even Jesus modeled this. Luke 5:15-16 tells us that crowds pressed in for healing, but Jesus withdrew to pray. Even the Son of God prioritized what mattered most. That’s a principle we can apply: sometimes we say no to good opportunities so we can say yes to what is best.

Our culture encourages busyness and comparison. Social media, extracurriculars, and a “do it all” mindset push us to exhaustion. But God calls us to faithfulness, not a full schedule. Measure your success by faithfulness, not tasks completed. Rest in Christ’s faithfulness, and seek to live in the overflow. Be intentional. Schedule your life. Plan with purpose. And always ask: How do I be most faithful to what matters most right now?

Far too often, church feels like a place where we pass by familiar faces on a regular basis and less like a family. I’ve talked to countless people who say they want to find meaningful relationships at church but find themselves often frustrated by the lack thereof. We tend to think the problem is a lack of programming and small groups and very seldom ask what we are doing that is preventing us from having authentic community at our church. If we are going to foster the kind of biblical fellowship and deep relationships we say we long for, it’s going to require some shifts in our mindset. Below, I will share a few of those and some steps we can take to make these changes.

Drop the Consumer Mindset

The Church is not a product to be consumed or an organization to join, it’s a people and a family to share your life with. You don’t go to church to consume a product, you go to gather and fellowship with God’s people because of the Gospel to worship Jesus Christ. You go to equip one another for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11-16). Don’t show up asking what your church can do for you, show up asking how God has gifted you to serve your church.

Show up early and stay late

If you’ve been around MissionWay lately you’ve likely heard me already talk about this and you’re tired of hearing me say it. But I really believe this is one of the best and yet most under utilized tools we have to foster community on Sunday mornings. At MissionWay, many people don’t arrive at the service until about 10 minutes into the service and some leave before the service is actually dismissed. Not to mention the message you’re communicating to the people who prayed and planned every aspect of the service to minister to those who would come, but you’re stifling any opportunity for meaningful connections and conversations. If you would come early and linger after the service is done with the purpose of talking with folks and having meaninful conversations, your chances at building authentic community go WAY up almost instantly. This is not the end-all-be-all, nor does it guarantee you’ll build relationships, but it’s a way too often neglected and simple tool.

Prioritize the Church gatherings and people

This seems like an obvious statement, I know, but consider an example I’ve used a couple of times recently: when my daughter joined the gymnastics team, and we were told she had practice 3 times per week, we did not sit down and assess whether we were going to make the time. We simply talked about how we were going to make the time - it wasn’t an option whether or not she would go, we just had to orchestrate our lives in a way that ensured she would go. How many of us actually do this with the church? We attend Sunday mornings as long as nothing else is happening, and when the church announces events aimed at fellowship, we check our calendars and if it’s clear, we consider signing up instead of prioritizing the church as a “big rock” in our schedules that we fit other things around.

Secondly, under this point, consider how we respond when someone from church asks us to hang out. We search our calendars high and low for a time when not much else is going on. When a family member or close friend reaches out, we cancel other things to make time. Why don’t we do this with our brothers and sisters in Christ? Of course, we can and should have friends outside of our church, but I think your local church family should be one of the primary sets of people that you prioritize time for. In a similar way that if I have the chance to hang out with you or my wife, I’ll choose my wife. If given the choice to hang out with a coworker or fellow church member, we need to choose to be with the church member.

Take initiative

This is a thread woven throughout this article, but I also want to make sure I explicitly state it: don’t wait for community to happen at your church, go out and make it happen. Don’t wait for your church to start a group or plan an event, meet people, and have them over for dinner. If you ask people why their church lacks community, you’ll typically hear something that they believe their church lacks programmatically, but seldom hear them share how they have not been as intentional as they should be. I’m not trying to lessen the church leadership’s responsibility to help foster genuine community; I’m saying that if church members are not intentional, it doesn’t matter how well programmed your church is, community will only be able to be surface-level.

Seek Biblical fellowship over superficial community

This one is really important. You can find a general sense of “community” in many places, but the idea of biblical fellowship that we find in the New Testament in places like Hebrews 10:19-25 only happens when we move past conversations about the kids and the weather. We have to strive to “stir one another to love and good works.” We have to be willing to share our struggles with trials and temptations. We have to ask how people are really doing and not settle for the simple “I’m good, just busy” response. Ask people what God is teaching them. Ask them what they need prayer for. Sit down for extended periods of time with people and really get to know them and talk about spiritual things. We have to work hard at going past superficial community because biblical fellowship doesn’t just happen, and it will require some “provoking” of one another at times.

This kind of authentic community is hard, but so worth it. It means altering your life and schedule in significant ways. But the consequence if we don’t is that we won’t move past superficial relationships in the church and will likely find ourselves jumping from church to church looking for something we’re not willing to put the work in to find.

There’s something I have been challenging our church to do recently. I have been telling them that every believer needs three people in their lives: a Paul, a Timothy, and a Barnabas. A Paul is someone who is a bit further along in their spiritual walk than you and disciples you in your faith like Paul did for Timothy and others. A Timothy then is someone whom you can be a Paul for - someone who is not quite as far along spiritually as you that you can disciple and help grow in their faith. A Barnabas is a close and trusted friend whom you can walk side-by-side with and sharpen one another through discipleship as iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17).

Most Christians agree with the idea and even long to have those three types of people in their lives, but many Christians have no idea where to start or how to find them. I don’t suggest you walk up to someone randomly and ask them “will you be my Paul?” Nor should you look at someone and say, “I think I’m much more spiritually mature than you and I think you need my help!” Instead of finding a Paul, you may have actually create a Saul in your life if you take that approach! So how do you find these people?

Start in your church

Look around on Sunday mornings. These are the people you see and worship together with on a weekly basis. Who among that group have you seen show spiritual maturity? Who have you seen struggling in their faith? Who do you think could be a great person for you to spend more time with? Find one person and invite them to grab coffee together. Better yet, invite them to your home and begin getting to know them. Ask them about their personal journey with Jesus: how they got saved, what kind of home they grew up in, what brought them to this church, etc. Begin gaining insight into their spiritual walk to know whether this person best fits the desctiption of a Paul, Timothy or Barnabas.

You’ll need to do more than just show up on Sunday morning services to identify them. Go to church early and stay late after the service and talk to people about more than just the weather! Show up at as many events at your church as possible and begin looking for those people you see often and start having intentional spiritual conversations with them. The people of your church should be the #1 pool of people you pull from when it comes to discipleship relationships.

Have a Plan

What will you talk about if they accept your invitation to coffee or dinner? You need to have a plan. I’m not suggesting that you buy a big whiteboard from amazon and write out 20 questions to drill them with like a job interview. Just know what you want to talk about and make sure it’s a conversation centered on spiritual things. Do you have something going on in your life that you would like to share with them and ask them to pray for? Do you want to hear their personal testimony? We’ve created a resource at MissionWay that will help you get started. Under our “Marks of an everyday disciple” we have questions that are discipleship-focused. They are designed to make you think and help you go beyond the surface in your walk with Christ. Maybe you take the four marks (each has two questions attached) and commit to 4 weeks together where you discuss one mark each week. You can find these marks and questions on this page. Whatever you do, have a plan for what you will discuss.

Move through the awkwardness

Yes, this will likely be awkward at first. You’re not going to have a secret handshake on day one. you’ll need to fight through the awkwardness to begin forming a real relationship. Sure, sometimes things just ‘click’ right away and you know early on that this person will be a trusted friend, but more often than not, the best relationships are built because two people intentionally pushed past the awkwardness to get to something real.

Prioritize this

One of the most empty phrases said on Sunday mornings in conversations is “we need to get together sometime.” How often have you said that and it never happens? Just me? If you don’t put it on the calendar and block that time out, it’s almost sure to get pushed aside or forgotten about entirely. Treat it like an obligation. Not in a cold-hearted kind of way, but make a commitment to it.

When our daughter started gymnastics, we were told she would have practice 3 days per week for 4 hours at a time. We had to move stuff around and organize our week in such a way that we could make sure she was there. We were happy to do it because it was important to her and therefore to us. That’s how we should treat the Church in general - especially Sunday mornings and discipleship relationships. If you don’t prioritize it, it simply will not happen because life is busy. But we always make the time for the things that matter.

Start today

The temptation for many of us is going to be that we wait until life slows down to find our Paul, Timothy, and Barnabas. Who comes to your mind? Text them now. Don’t have their number? Reach out to someone who does. Put a reminder in your phone now to seek them out on Sunday. Do whatever it takes to ensure that this doesn’t get pushed off. Reach out to your pastor to help you find someone. I know personally I would love to help anyone at MissionWay find their Paul, Timothy, or Barnabas. But I can’t make anyone do this, we all have to make the commitment and start pursuing these discipleship relationships.

Just pick one person to pursue for now. Don’t get to hung up on whether they are a Paul, a Timothy, or a Barnabas right away - just start getting to know someone and building that relationship. I’m not trying to get us to be robotic about this. You can have two Paul’s, one Timothy, and three Barnabas’. Someone can be a Paul and a Barnabas at the same time. We all need people pouring into us and people we are pouring into - that’s the point. So get started today - don’t wait for it to just happen. Find your Paul, Timothy, and Barnabas!

Command me, Lord—
Eternal, beating Heart of Heaven.
Will You grant me, O Ancient of Days,
That final rest beneath Your wings?

Let Your perpetual light fall on dust—
This frame of mine, frail and fading.
Zion, crowned and lifted high,
Shall tremble at Your coming glory.
And homage, Lord—yes, all homage—
Shall rise for You alone.

Before my breath knew Your Name,
You placed me among Your sheep.
Your right hand drew the line,
Separating me from goats.
Your voice declared,
"You hear all prayers."

What tongue could ever praise You rightly?
You search the heart—I leave it bare.
It prays in silence,
For You know the words before they rise.

O King of Glory, Jesus—
Christ, in You I trusted mercy.
All flesh shall stand before You
When the appointed time arrives.

Grant me, Lord, Your eternal rest
When the Great Trembling shakes the heavens.
Let Your unending light fall on me—
A sinner in need of grace.

When You descend from Your throne,
Will You look away from me?
In You, I am laid bare,
My shame like a crimson tide.

Will I too dissolve—
Ashes on the day of wrath?
How shall I answer
When the Lamb opens the Book?

Who will intercede?
Who shall speak for me?
Will I be found among the spared?
Will You remember the thief
And do the same for me?

Still—will You be
The Merciful Friend I once knew?
You bore the dust that belonged to me.
Not I, but You were raised on the Cross.
Not my blood—but Yours poured down.

So, Lord, I plead—
Let not such love be in vain.
Let not Your sacrifice
Fall empty at my feet.

Scripture References for further reflection:

Matt 11:28 & 25:32
Psalm 139:2 & Psalm 27:1
John 5:28-29
Malachi 3:2-3
Hebrews 12:2
Luke 23:42-43
Ephesians 1:7
Revelation 5:6