A Rhythm To Life

There is a rhythm to life—you know, that whole “time to laugh, time to cry, time to celebrate, time to mourn,” deal (as in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes). The whole Bible is pretty big into the rhythm thing. Think about the creation narrative in Genesis: six days of work, one day of rest, and then a repeating cycle, a pattern even enshrined in the Law some centuries later.

We have the greatest potential for success and wholeness if we embrace this concept of rhythm in life, balancing our days with routines that conform to God’s original order. Doing so anchors us and gives us a sense of order in a world of chaos. It also maximizes our ability to grow.

Church life, in its best moments, reflects these rhythms. It frames the week’s beginning and end—and its middle, too. It can be a touchstone that reassures and stretches us, both at once.

“Assembling together” on “the Lord’s day,” the first day of the week, Sunday, is a no-brainer. Going to church isn’t so much about receiving, but giving and encouraging. Giving our time and attention to God, encouraging His people to “love and good works” (read Hebrews 10 on this count, for instance). Jesus Himself was routinely in a house of worship with God’s people on the day of rest, that one day set apart in seven, observing the rhythm of creation. Maybe it’s this discipline, as much as any other, that reminds us that we are a “new creation,” re-born and re-created.

There’s another day in the middle of the seven, though, that’s always been a part of my weekly rhythm. It doesn’t have the same weight of Biblical endorsement as does Sunday, but it has long been established as a time to ground ourselves just the same. It’s Wednesday—the mid-week—the halfway point between Sundays.

I don’t know about you, but the world in which I live can wear me out between Sundays. It’s a complex world and it’s easy to get sidetracked. Wednesday-evening-with-my-church-family somehow always puts some new wind in my sail and keeps me steady until the next Lord’s Day (when I have a chance to stop, take a deep breath, look back at where I’ve been and place my life once more in the Lord’s hands for the days to come). With this in mind, I’m very excited about our new fall mid-week line-up, which launches August 20 at Madison Park. Our congregation has always had a strong mid-week ministry, but this fall (our second in the new building) is especially promising.

Our junior high and senior high student ministries will be separated for the first time in living memory, with new options for high schoolers in the Crossroads Auditorium and a new small group outreach and discipleship program for junior highers in other meeting rooms. Adults will be able to choose from a wide selection of elective learning and growing classes, all under the umbrella of Grow U. A new and improved Men’s Fraternity (that’s where I’ll be!) will be one of those electives, meeting on Main Street. Stay tuned for the whole Grow U line-up—coming soon. Our children’s ministry will also field new programs for kids on Wednesday night. And, the evening will begin each week with the wonders of the Lighthouse Café (for everyone!) in The Commons.

Wednesday nights will start off a half-hour earlier this fall, with all programming beginning at 6:30pm (except, of course, for the Lighthouse Café in The Commons, which will open its doors at 5:00pm). Children’s, student, and adult Grow U ministries will all run for 75 minutes, dismissing by 7:45pm. This way, everyone will be able to go a little deeper at mid-week and get home a little earlier, too.

To set the stage properly, our regular Wednesday evening schedule will be suspended during the first two weeks of August, as we prepare for the Fall 2008 Wednesday Launch on August 20. These two weeks without regular programming will allow our staff and volunteers to pull out the stops on August 20 and each Wednesday thereafter.

If Wednesdays at Madison Park haven’t been a part of your weekly routine in the past, give it a try this fall; it will strengthen your heart’s rhythm, I promise. If you’re already in the Wednesday-night groove at Madison Park, it’s my guess that you’ll be very pleased with what you find this fall. “Better than ever” is what I imagine we’ll hear, over-and-over.

And so, the countdown begins: one month until Grow U and all the rest is unveiled. Don’t miss August 20 at Madison Park. Get into a rhythm of life that anchors, sustains, inspires, and breathes Heaven’s air into everything you do, all week long. Make church on Sunday a non-negotiable priority—and add a mid-week spiritual energy stop at Madison Park into your mix—and the Lord will bless it. No doubt about it.

Thanks for growing with us, Madison Park. All summer long. And, this fall on Wednesdays, too.