Sometimes churches spend too much time talking about what we need to do and not enough time doing what needs to be done. Sometimes we seem to value planning and discussing more than we value doing.

Have you seen those excellent television commercials advertising the Royal Bank of Scotland? In one of them, a group of people is eating in a restaurant when one of them starts to choke. One man says, “Isn’t Jacobsen choking?” Someone else says, “I’d definitely say Jacobsen’s choking.” The first fellow then says, “I know exactly what to do. I saw it in the movies once. It’s called the Heimlich maneuver.” That launches the diners into a discussion first of how to pronounce “Heimlich” and then how to perform the maneuver. Of course, all the while Jacobsen is choking. Finally, a man from a neighboring table comes over and successfully performs the maneuver on Jacobsen. Then the announcer says, “Less talk — make it happen!”

Now, I’m not downplaying the importance of deliberate, constructive, and thoughtful talk. Good planning is necessary. But if someone is choking to death talk won’t save his life; action must be taken. I am convicted that the future of this church is directly connected with our willingness to take action to help those around us who are choking to death.

They are choking to death on their sins. They are choking to death on their poverty. They are choking to death on their lifestyles. They are choking to death on their loneliness. They are choking to death on their fear. They are choking to death on their materialism. They are choking to death on their emptiness. They are choking to death. It’s time for our church to engage in less talk and in more action. It’s time for us, with the Lord’s help and guidance, to make it happen.

In other words, it’s time to implement our ministry plans. Can we do it? Yes, we can, if we follow some guidelines that emerge from the book of Nehemiah.

We can implement our ministry plans if we have a mind to work (4:6).

The people, despite the taunts of enemies, worked hard on rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. Nehemiah reported, “So we rebuilt the wall, and all the wall was joined together to half its height; for the people had a mind to work.” More literally, the verse says “for it was the heart of the people to work.” They were committed to doing the work; they put themselves into it whole-heartedly.

Do we have a mind to work? Are we putting our hearts into what the Lord has placed before us? Now, I’m not one to try to get people to take more and more responsibility onto themselves. I heard a report this week that said the number one contributor to one’s susceptibility to a cold virus is stress; I don’t want to make you sick by causing you to work too hard at church! I also resist the notion that the more work you do for the church the more points you score with the Lord.

The fact is, though, that we have a large and important mission before us. The fact further is that if every member of the body will function as he or she should, there will be less overwork for the few who are presently required to be overly faithful. What do we need you to do? We need more of you to commit yourself to one of our ministry teams. We need more of you to invite people to come to church. We need more of you to be willing to be trained to be teachers. We need more of you to help us in our Interfaith Hospitality efforts. We need more of you to commit yourselves to praying daily for your church and for our community. You might think of other needs. When you boil the matter down to its essentials, we need your commitment.