Larry’s driving his truck to his company’s work site for the day, mentally reviewing his to-do list. Then, from the radio tuned to Country K93, Kenny Chesney’s voice preaches the gospel to Larry: “It’s always your favorite sins that do you in.” Ouch, that line from Kenny’s song gets Larry’s attention.
“Wonder if I have a favorite sin?” Larry muses. He remembers his pastor at All Alike Baptist Church had listed a half-dozen or so deadly sins in a good sermon two Sundays back. Larry recalls some of the sins on that list — lust, greed, pride. They all sound familiar enough. And if they don’t kill him, Larry’s sure they won’t do him any favors.
The pastor mentioned one sin that sounds odd to Larry’s ears — sloth. Honestly, being slothful isn’t much of a temptation to Larry. He’s had a job and worked hard ever since he’s had a driver’s license. Besides, to Larry, sloth is that upside down, three-toed, half-ape over at the zoo.
Almost done in by sin
“What’s my favorite sin?” Larry tries to put lust, greed, and pride in order of personal practice. He remembers his pastor saying we usually think about our favorite sins a lot. There’s a good clue. “What stays on my mind?” Then Larry makes his first discovery of the day. Thinking about his favorite sin is wearing him out — and he hasn’t even gotten to work.
Then Larry’s mind drifts to All Alike. “What’s our favorite sin over at church?” he asks himself. “At church, what do we think about the most?” Larry replays the last several business meetings in his memory. What have we fretted out loud about most at church lately? Suddenly, it hit Larry. All Alike talks most about “3 Bs” — bricks, bodies and bucks.
Favorite brick sins
In a business meeting last fall, the worry was all about the church building. The list of property problems was long. I.B. Hammer, the long-time building committee chair, scolded the crowd, “That entry sidewalk has to be fixed before some old member trips on the cracks and breaks a hip!” And, “It’s always too cold in the Fellowship Hall!” fumed Mrs. Blunt. Larry sympathizes with these problems about the church building. But the constant complaints make him uneasy, too.
“What does it mean when All Alike talks so much about maintenance and so little about missions, so much about thermostats and so little about theology?” Larry wonders at what point a building becomes a favorite sin — and then an idol.
Favorite body sins
In another recent business meeting, there had been a near-panic about attendance — or the lack of it. The head counts in Sunday school and worship were down. The nursery was half empty. That wasn’t good. “If we don’t recruit more members, especially young families, we’ll be closing our doors soon,” reported I.L. Call, the outreach committee’s chair, ominously. The talk about numbers went on and on that night.
Larry wants more members too, but he admits to himself that overall the church is doing precious little to cultivate younger people. He doesn’t want to be a believer who forgets about others’ spiritual needs. Larry asks himself a painful question about All Alike: “Is our favorite sin fussing about growth and then not reaching out to others?”
Favorite budget sins
This month, All Alike’s business meeting centered on the budget. Tony Treasurer reported that nickels and noses are scarce around the church. People wondered aloud, “How can we find more of both?” Members struggled with All Alike’s tight budget all evening.
Larry now realizes the conversation that night was more about dollars than discipleship, more about balance sheets than stewardship. This morning, Larry thinks back about his own family’s giving pattern. Over time, he and Linda have learned they’re more generous when they give from their hearts, when the tithes and offerings they put in the plate are acts of faith and ministry. Larry hopes All Alike’s favorite sin isn’t filling deeper offering plates — for its own survival.
Leading at the next business meeting
Larry’s train of thought is interrupted. He’s driving up to his work site. He still hasn’t identified his own favorite sin and how it might do him in. That will come later. But he is clearer about how he will help lead at All Alike the next time bricks, bodies, and budgets become favorite topics of conversation. Larry Leader has some questions to ask his favorite church about its favorite sins — the ones that Kenny Chesney warns can be deadly.
Larry thanks God for his hard-working crew. Smiling on the inside, Larry laughs to himself. “Not a three-toed sloth in the bunch.”
Bob Dale ([email protected]) is a leader coach living in Richmond, Va.