Great post on ChurchLeaders.com. Here's a slice...

What's your response to the word routine? For many, the word routine has become a word used synonymously with "boring," "lame," or "predictable."

But let's not miss the strengths that routine brings to the table.

Now, I'm not one to get stuck anywhere doing anything (ask those I work with about my chronic furniture rearranging). But I also recognize that in ministry, a sense of "sameness" has just an important a place in the lives of our students as changes and newness do.

Several months ago, a high school student who had fallen off the map showed up at our student worship service one Sunday morning. As soon as the service concluded, he made a beeline to me and told me emphatically, "Oh man, I've so missed this. I'm so glad I came back. I really need this."

What was the "this" he was referring to? I'd submit to you that it was at least partly a deep sense of familiarity he was remembering; it was an inner "Aaaah, this feels like home" vibe that he was drawn to. He had been faithful in the past, had disappeared for a number of months and had returned to the "routine" he once knew. And he hasn't left since. In fact, he's grown into a powerful influencer among his peers.

Go, read the rest...

[image hotlinked from Flickr user DanieVDM]