Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; 

but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

-Joshua 24:5

This photo appeared in my Facebook feed this week from a dear friend from a church I served some years ago. It hit me the way you hit your funny bone. It feels funny, but far too familiar. And just like hitting my funny bone, I wanted to ignore it till the feeling went away. But, God in God's wisdom (or sense of humor) called me and wired me to be a pastor. So I responded... The body or the soul? My Sundays look different than a lot of people because of which one I'm feeding and resting. 

It's rare among my contemporaries, xennials like myself and the younger millennials, as well as folks from my parents' generation to be committed to weekly worship attendance. It's not strictly the hard work or commitment that's lacking. Many follow TV programs "religiously" or have season tickets to pro and college sports. Some are even more dedicated to the sports or academics and arts of their teenagers or even their tots. Some are very dedicated to their morning gym routine or weekend tennis or Starbucks run. The faith and commitment are there. 

Our family does not live in a vacuum, and we definitely hear the call to these same commitments to be busy in many places. We do commit to the academics, activities, and scouting our boys love and will help them succeed. But we find ourselves talking often about how to keep them from becoming a greater priority than our faith community and the spiritual nurture of our souls. My wife and I grew up in families that put weekly worship and the nurture of youth group and Christian education as a first priority and we feel it has served us above all other things. I hope you'll join us with your family as the busy school year begins so that together we can all help each other keep this commitment.