Don't Just Attend Church, Belong to It 

You can go to a Michigan football game and not really care who wins. You can sit in a stadium of 100,000 people and not know a single word of the song. And, as Pastor Cyle put it this Sunday at our Brooklyn campus, "you can attend church without ever becoming part of your church."

Over in Jackson, Pastor Mark tackled the same idea from a different angle: once you're part of a church family, how do you actually treat each other? Put the two messages side by side and you get one big takeaway:

God didn't call you to warm a seat. He called you to belong, to serve, and to honor the people next to you.

Brooklyn Campus: Find Your Fit in the Church

 Watch "Don't Just Attend Church—Be Part of It"

Week two of Find Your Fit moved from the home to the church. Last week was about living out your faith at home. This week asked a harder question: are you part of the body, or just part of the crowd?

One Body, Many Parts (Yes, Including the Rump)

The message walked through 1 Corinthians 12, where Paul writes to a city full of rich and poor, free and enslaved, politicians and everyone else. His point: spiritual gifts come from the Spirit, not your status. A bigger boat doesn't mean better gifts.

And those gifts aren't a personal trophy. "God gave you gifts to use for other people." They're given "for the common good" (1 Corinthians 12:7).

Paul's body picture is the fun part. Pastor Cyle's version: some of us are hands, some feet, some knees, and some of us are, well, the rump. Every part counts, and the parts that seem weaker are "indispensable" (1 Corinthians 12:22).

The Heroes You've Never Heard Of

Some of the most important work at HOTL happens where no one sees it. Pastor Cyle mentioned a lady who makes a blanket for people going through a loss, a nursery volunteer who reaches out with calls and flowers when prayer requests come in, and someone who patches the parking lot every winter so nobody loses a tire on the way to worship. As he put it, "you don't need a position in a church to have a purpose in the church."

God Group and God Job

Here's the practical challenge, and it's a good one: "a God group is where people help you grow, and a God job is where you help others grow. You need both."

A God group might be a life group, a Bible study, a men's or women's group, or a group that plays Flip 7 on a weeknight and laughs way too loud. It's the kind of community described in Acts 2:42-47, where the early church devoted themselves to teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer, and received their food "with glad and generous hearts."

A God job is how you serve: greeting at the doors (Brooklyn could use more greeters), safety and security, salting sidewalks on snowy Sunday mornings, cleaning up after events, or teaching kids. As 1 Peter 4:10 says, "As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace."

And if you don't see a fit? Make one.

Remember the LEGO bricks from last week? "A brick by itself, it has potential, but connected to other bricks, it builds something greater." Brooklyn is signing bricks to build a mosaic of people who say, "I'm in."

Jackson Campus: Living Out a Culture of Honor

 Watch the Jackson campus service (message starts around 26:10)

Pastor Mark started with a confession most drivers can relate to. Stuck behind someone going 40 in a 55, he got impatient, and the students in his car threw his own words back at him: "You might be right, but is it loving?" His go-to phrase for those moments? "Jesus loves you. I do too."

A Culture on Purpose

Every group has a culture, whether anyone plans it or not. HOTL chose to build one intentionally: "We didn't want to just be a culture on accident. We wanted to be a culture on purpose." Honor, he explained, is one of the fruits of love: "Honor is the way that people get to see the love that you have."

The CARRY Acronym

The Culture of Honor fits on a wallet card (grab one at the welcome table), and it spells CARRY:

• C: Care about what the people you care about care about. Pastor Mark joined a fantasy football league for his friends, despite being more of a music-and-physics-videos guy.
• A: Assume the best. "If you assume the worst and you're wrong, that's going to do more damage than if you assume the best and you're wrong."
• R: Release bitterness. Stored-up frustration eventually blows up, so talk about it early and kindly.
• R: Restore gently. "Don't go in trying to win. Go in trying to fix the relationship."
• Y: You might be right, but is it loving?

Honor Everyone (Yes, Everyone)

1 Peter 2:17 says, "Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor." In a world of comment-section fights and rage bait, that's countercultural. "Honoring someone isn't determined by if they honor or dishonor you first."

Jesus flipped the script in Matthew 5:43-45: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Then he lived it. While being beaten and crucified, he prayed, "Father, forgive them" (Luke 23:34).

Also in the message: Isaiah 29:13, 1 Corinthians 10:31, and John 15:8.

Bonus vocabulary word: EGR, or "extra grace required." We all know a few EGR people. Some days we are the EGR people.

The Big Takeaway: Belonging Changes How You Show Up

Brooklyn asked, "Where do you fit?" Jackson asked, "How will you treat the people around you?" Together:

• Don't just attend. Belong. Join a group where people know more than your name.
• Use your gifts for others. Your gifts are for the common good, not just for you.
• Find a God job. On stage, behind the scenes, or in the kids' room, there's a place for you.
• Honor everyone first. Don't wait for others to go first.
• Check your heart. You might be right, but is it loving?

Coming Up at HOTL

Brooklyn Campus

• Free Concert with Love & The Outcome: Saturday, November 21, 6:30 to 8:30 PM at HOTL. They'll also lead worship at all three services on Sunday, November 22.
• Deck the Halls: Sunday, November 22, after church. Lunch is on us!
• HOTL Decades Christmas Party: Friday, December 4, 6:00 to 8:00 PM in the Brooklyn Gym. Dress in your favorite decade and RSVP with the QR code in the bulletin.
• Children's Christmas Program: Sunday, December 13.
• Also happening: Name-vember name tags, the Toy Drive in the lobby, and voting for your favorite Christmas carols in the HOTLdays app.

Jackson Campus

• Jamaica Mission Trip: February 3 to 10, 2027. More info coming soon.

Find Your Fit at a Brooklyn MI or Jackson MI Church

Looking for a church near you in Lenawee County or Jackson County? Heart O' the Lakes Church has two campuses, Brooklyn and Jackson, Michigan, full of people doing life together, using their gifts, and learning to honor each other well. Come as you are, grab a name tag, and we'll save you a seat (and maybe a LEGO brick).

Plan your visit at hotlstrong.com. We can't wait to meet you.