Apostolic House Of Mercy

“Your Spot”
By Pastor Bo Wagner
December 27, 2025

So, you say you’ve been out of church for a while, and that uncaring, unconcerned church has stopped checking on you? Let’s talk about that a bit. Bear in mind, please, that I am not writing as a struggling pastor with anyone in mind; my church is far bigger as this year ends than it was when the year began. Third year in a row for that, actually. But that growth is actually what got me thinking on this subject.

Christians can be a weird bunch of people. One of the ways they can be weird is that they selectively choose which parts of the Bible apply to them, and when. For instance, they are not “sheep” when it comes to following the shepherds God has placed over them (1 Peter 5:1-2; Acts 20:28), but they suddenly become sheep when they get out of church, and expect everyone to drop whatever they are doing and go looking for them week, after week, after week, after...

You get the point.

But Christians are described as more than merely sheep. Importantly, 1 Corinthians 12 describes believers over and over again as parts of the body, with gifts for the body, and responsibilities to the body. And it is that role, body part, that plays into the reason a church seems to move on after someone has been gone a long while. You see, God loves His body, the church. As such, He puts a body together person (part) by person (part). Some are eyes, some are ears, some are hands, some are feet, some may even be the little hangy-ball thing in the back of the throat, which technically is called a uvula, but really should just be called “the little hangy-ball thing in the back of the throat.”

In practical terms, some are singers, some are preachers, some are teachers, some are smilers, some are warm greeters, some are security, some are techies, and on and on. And while in life, a person may lose a body part, say an arm or a leg, and it never grows back, in the body that is the church, God never leaves His body crippled forever. At some point, no matter what was lost, God replaces it (him, her) with another. A church will not limp along forever missing anyone; God loves the church too much for that.

I have watched this for nearly thirty years now. I often play a weird game that only another pastor can truly appreciate; I will look at someone sitting in “their spot” (because all of you church people have one, you creatures of habit, you), and try to think back to whose spot it was before them, and whose it was before them, as far back as I can remember.

When you get out of church, believe me, everyone misses you (unless, of course, you have been some irritable shrew, in which case, “bless your heart”). And for a while, a Pastor and people in the pews will check on you. But, pay close attention, here, that cannot be done forever. To try to do so would be to rob current faithful people of the time and attention they deserve through their faithfulness. And eventually, God, who immediately knows what part is now lacking in the body, will replace that part. And it gets very hard after a while to remember missing parts when they have been replaced, and their spots are filled every week!

I do not say any of this to make anyone feel slighted. I say it to help everyone realize that they have a responsibility to the body. I say it to get people to stop thinking of themselves as tender little sheep in need of babying, and to help them think of themselves as the soldiers of Christ God has called us to be (2 Timothy 2:3-4)

If you have not been in your place, get back to it. If you have not been fulfilling your responsibility to the body, get back to it.

Fill your spot before God fills it for you.

You can sit in church every week, know the Scriptures, serve in ministry, and still miss the One they’re all about.

Judas walked with Jesus, heard His teaching, witnessed His miracles, and still chose his own way. Nearness to Jesus is not the same as surrender to Jesus.

God isn’t looking for people who are merely familiar with Him—He desires hearts that are transformed by Him.

Don’t settle for being close to Jesus. Be changed by Him. 🤍🙏🏻

Evangelist Ryan McNeely will be with us this Sunday @ 11am
you won't want to miss this service!

No Bible study tonight / 25/26 due to sickness.

💙 Not all heroes wear capes.

Some answer to the name Dad.

Thank you for the sacrifices nobody saw, the lessons we’ll never forget, and the unconditional love that never wavered.

For every hand you held, every dream you encouraged, and every time you put your family before yourself…

Thank you.

Today, we celebrate the fathers, grandfathers, stepfathers, and father figures who make our lives better simply by being there.

💙 Happy Father’s Day to all the amazing dads out there.

You are loved more than you know.

Sister Dayvona received the gift of the Holy Ghost and baptized in Jesus name!