Category: Church

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A Beautiful Thing

This past Saturday, I saw a beautiful example of the Body of Christ in action. Jan and I went to a fundraiser for a young woman who had been terribly injured in an automobile accident a few months ago. There were numerous things that brought home the fact that those who follow Jesus are one body.

The fundraiser was sponsored and put on by two of the larger churches in our town, one Presbyterian and one Baptist. There was at least one other congregation that donated an item for a silent auction. People came to the festival from different faith backgrounds because they knew the young woman and her family through social contacts, or because they worked on something together. We met people there who knew people who knew people, and we saw folks we hadn’t seen in awhile who were connected with us and with the family. Jan and I knew the woman’s husband because we both had taught him in Maryland some thirty years ago, and he had recently moved to the town where we live. There are folks all over praying for this family because of the network of connections that has grown up. It shows a bit of the unity of those who belong to Christ.

Imagine what would happen if we realized our unity in Christ all the time.

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Change is Coming

Change is coming
You can hide from it
You can try to ignore it
You can fight it
You can preach against it
You can try to control it
Or
You can welcome it
You can embrace it
You can learn from it
You can ride it
You can grow from it
But,
You can’t stop it
Change is coming
Change is here.

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When Is Worship?

This morning, I passed a church with a sign that read, “Worship is Sunday, 11:00 AM.” I guess that what they meant was that their Sunday service was at 11:00, so potential visitors would know when to show up. As usual, my thoughts went in a different direction.

I think there are many churches that would make the same statement, with the emphasis on the word is. They might not say it with words, but their actions speak loudly. For many Christians, worship is Sunday at 11. That is the event, what church is all about. How many times have you heard people say, “I go to church on Sunday to get refreshed and prepared for the week ahead.” Now, it is true that the times we get together with our brothers and sisters in Christ should be refreshing. It is also true that times of teaching and encouragement are needed to enable us to live in this world. We in the body do need each other.

What I take issue with, is the idea that worship is only singing and praying, and that corporate worship only happens when the church gets together in a certain place at a certain time. I believe that worship (declaring the worthiness of God) can happen any place, at any time, and in anything we do. When our community gathers on Sunday morning, that is worship. When we meet at someone’s house, and eat together, listening to, and encouraging each other, that is worship. When some of us help one of our number with yard work, or serve meals at a homeless shelter, that…you guessed it. Worship. For the follower of Jesus, all of life is to be worship to the One who gave his life for us. As the Apostle Paul says, eating, drinking, and everything else is to be done for the glory of God.

So, gather with other followers of Jesus tomorrow. Sing praises to God, and be taught. Just remember that there are six more days in the week to gather together and build each other up, six more days to love God by loving others.

Worship is 24/7.

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Teflon Church 2

I’ve been thinking more about the “teflon church”. A teflon pan is a useful thing until the teflon wears off. A teflon church is really not useful. Sometimes the cracks need to happen for the church to become what it was meant to be. If that’s the case, then I pray that God will remove the “protective covering” that is over so many churches today.

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Teflon Church

Here’s another blast from the past:

The other day, I passed a road named Mt. Elon Church Road. At first glance it looked like Teflon Church Road. Since my mind works in mysterious (some would say strange) ways, I got to thinking – What would a teflon church look like?

I imagine it would be a place where nothing “bad” sticks. Things of the outside world would have no effect. The church would be a “safe place” for Christians to gather and get away from “the world”. To those looking at it from the outside, it would seem like a place where everybody had it all together, a place where those within were just “holier” than the rest.

Of course, there would be other things that wouldn’t stick. Things like compassion for those outside, concern for those on the margins of society, a realization that none of us really has it all together, that it is only by the grace of God that we stand. Things like love for brothers and sisters in Christ as well as those who are neighbors.

Eventually, a teflon pan gets cracks and the teflon wears off. In a church, the cracks eventually happen and what is going on beneath the surface comes out. A pan that has lost teflon is useless and will be thrown out. Fortunately. a church that has lost its teflon can be redeemed and made useful again by our gracious Father.

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Back To Church?

Tomorrow is “Back To Church Sunday.” Churches are making an attempt to get people who have left “church” to come back. I will not be participating, for a number of reasons.

First of all, I haven’t left the church. The church is Christ’s body. Leaving the church makes as much sense as one of your fingers saying adios to the rest of your body. The institution that most think of when they hear the word “church” is another matter. I have left that building, and I doubt I’ll be going back. I don’t “go to” church anymore. I do gather with the church, in different ways and in different places. I am part of the church everywhere I go.

The second reason for not being part of the festivities tomorrow is that I believe churches are making a mistake in continuing with the notion that the mission of the church is to go out and get folks to come in and meet Jesus. Jesus told his followers to go. He didn’t tell us to stay and invite. For many years we have invited people to come to church with the expectation that they would hear the Gospel, accept Christ, and join the church. One problem with that kind of thinking is that there are plenty of examples of church members and church leaders who live lives that don’t match up with the way of Jesus, so folks aren’t in a hurry to go someplace that has nothing to offer them (in their opinion).

Many members of the people formerly known as the congregation have got fed up with churches being more concerned with perpetuating the institution than serving their community, with the pastor as CEO mindset, and with the continual push for funds to create more programs and build bigger buildings rather than give to those in need. The culture war has sent some running for the exits. Others have left over a judgmental spirit and lack of grace. Some have departed because they don’t believe that you can only minister inside the church building. Still others just didn’t fit in.

Maybe churches should have a Sunday to take a good hard look at what they are doing, and see how much of it really fits with God’s mission in the world.

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Questions From Jesus

This morning in our gathering, we were talking about some of the questions that Jesus asked during his time on earth. There are three in particular that we are going to attempt to answer as individuals and as a body.

The first question is, “Who do you say that I am?” When Jesus asked his disciples this question, Peter gave the famous answer that the Church is built upon. He said, “You are the Messiah, the son of the living God.” Jesus commended him for this answer and declared that it was revealed to him from God. Not long after this, Jesus was calling Peter, “Satan” for declaring that Jesus was not going to die. Even though Peter made a great declaration of faith, he didn’t totally understand all that went into that statement. He wasn’t thinking of a Messiah that would submit and die. He was still looking for a King that would defeat the pagan Romans and restore the glory of Israel.

Things haven’t changed that much since the first century. We make the same declaration, yet we usually don’t understand everything that means. We tell people that Jesus is Savior, or that Jesus is Lord. But, do we really live like that is true? Do we really get it?

As we attempt to answer the three questions, we are going to try and do it without resorting to the stock answers we’ve heard all our lives. We’re not even allowed to use Peter’s answer. 🙂 It will be interesting.

Who do you say that Jesus is?

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Community Happenings

One of our goals at St. Thomas is to get to know each other, in order to grow together as a body and be able to build each other up. We can’t do that by meeting only on Sunday morning, so we have been getting together at other times. About two weeks ago we gathered at a house and spent a few hours together, eating and drinking, and telling each other a little bit of our stories. We talked about the earliest age at which we remember being wounded in spirit. It was eye opening and I think it gave us all some understanding of where each of us is coming from and how those early experiences have shaped us.

A couple of nights ago, a few of us gathered at our house to hear one of our number and her daughter tell us about a recent trip to Europe. They showed pictures they had taken and told us about their travels. It was more than just a record of places visited though, as they shared how God had traveled with them and had spoken through their experiences, and how that continues to strengthen their faith. It was a good time of fellowship.

Some would say that what happened those two nights was not church, that it was, at best, a small group meeting. I firmly believe that the church was gathered together, and as we gathered, we mutually built each other up and grew closer as members of one another. We didn’t sing any songs, listen to a sermon, or take up an offering.

But it was church. It was church.

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Lessons From Easy Rider

The other night we watched Easy Rider. Even though the film has been out for 41 years, it was the first time any of us had seen it. As we watched, Jan and I were both struck by the idea of freedom, although in slightly different ways.

Jan saw the characters as people looking for freedom. Wyatt (Peter Fonda) and Billy (Dennis Hopper) traveled across America free to do whatever they wished. The folks at the commune wanted to be free to live off the land as they saw fit. George (Jack Nicholson) saw traveling with Wyatt and Billy as a chance for freedom. What Jan said is that while they were looking for freedom, or thought that they were free, all of them were bound by something. I think that’s true. All of the characters were bound, by drugs, prostitution, prejudice, the weather, or the actions of others. That’s true in real life as well. People are bound by any number of things. As Jan said, everyone who is outside of Christ is bound by sin. Only in Jesus do we have freedom.

That brings me to my thoughts as we watched the film. There was a section where George talks about freedom:

“They’re scared of what you represent to them….

What you represent to them is freedom….

But talking about and being it, that’s two different things.

Don’t tell anybody that they’re not free, because they’ll get busy killing and maiming to prove to you that they are. They’re going to talk to you and talk to you about individual freedom. But, they see a free individual, it’s going to scare them. Well, it don’t make them running scared. It makes them dangerous.”

There are a lot of churches that loudly proclaim grace and freedom. “By grace are you saved” is a common theme. Some put grace in their name. They will tell you that they are all about grace and freedom. If you take a closer look, however, you will notice that the folks in those churches are like the characters in Easy Rider. They are bound. Bound by the expectations of others, by their pursuit of the American Dream. Bound by rules handed down from the pastor or group of leaders. Bound by a system of theology or a tradition of worship. Bound by guilt or prejudice. Just don’t tell them that they are not free or let them see an individual who is living free in God’s grace. That’s when they become dangerous.

People who try to truly live in freedom are looked upon as “backsliders.” They are “lawless” and “they need to get right with God.” They are removed from leadership roles, or expelled from institutions. People who live in freedom are ostracized. Some are even branded as “heretics,” and are denounced in writing or on blogs. Christians are scared of grace and of the freedom that we have because of grace. It’s nothing new. Paul was accused of promoting lawlessness because he preached grace.

I think we are scared of freedom because freedom is a dangerous thing. It causes us to rely completely on the Holy Spirit to guide us, rather than a law handed down from an authority figure. If we live in freedom we have to think, and we have to be willing to make mistakes and then own up to those mistakes. We even have to be willing to sin. Yes, I said that we even have to be willing to sin. Face it, we are going to sin. Instead of trying to hide it and pretend we don’t, we should own up to it. We shouldn’t live our lives constantly looking around for some sin to jump out from the shadows and attack us. We shouldn’t go through our day worrying about avoiding sin. We should flee temptation when it presents itself, but we shouldn’t be anxious about it.

We are called to live in freedom. Christ has fulfilled the law, and it is for freedom that he has set us free. Learn from Jesus. Let his Spirit fill you and teach you. As you grow more and more in the grace of God through Jesus, and let Christ live through you, the more you’ll be able to live in grace, and the more you will be truly free.

You might be scary to some. But, that’s a good thing.

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Community

Community is one of the favorite buzz words being used in churches today. Churches talk about being a community of faith, some call themselves _______________ Community Church. Now, I have nothing against community churches, the local body I gather with is St. Thomas Community Church. I also believe community is a vital thing for the church.

I wonder though, if we understand what community is. I’m not sure that most church goers know how to have community, or what it would look like. I also don’t think most church leaders understand it. Sometimes churches try to “build community” by having more Sunday school classes, or by having an extended meet and greet time during the Sunday morning service. Other churches have small groups throughout the week. Many times these efforts only serve as another program that gives the appearance of community, but does nothing to build up the people involved. Some smaller churches attempt to have community by seeking to control every area of their members’ lives.

One definition of community is: “a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society.” There are many other definitions, but it seems to me that this one fits what the church is meant to be. A local body of followers of Jesus is a group of people (that was a profound statement, wasn’t it). A local body is also within a larger society. So far, so good. I believe the key for the church is found in the found in the middle of the definition.

A community is a group living together. That may mean living in the same neighborhood, or even in the same house, and there are faith communities who do that. For most of us though, the idea of living together means doing life together. Doing life together is not easy in today’s society, but it is essential for community. It takes different forms, from a couple of people getting together for coffee one day a week to families meeting for dinner and spending time together. It can be “theology night” at a local pub, or folks in the church camping together. Doing life together can take many forms, but the important thing is that it happens more than just a couple of hours on Sunday.

A community is also a group with a common characteristic or interest. I believe that the only common interest that can bring about true community is Jesus. Church groups can form around many interests, from sports to cooking. “Accountability groups” are popular. While these groups can be good things, they can quickly become either social groups or exercises in navel gazing. The church has a built-in common characteristic. We are all members of the Body of Christ. We are all family. If a local body is focused on Jesus Christ, and is wrapped up in learning him, and being formed together into his image, we will grow closer together. We will invest ourselves and our resources in each others’ lives. We will grow to be open and vulnerable with one another. We will minister to each other. It’s not something that will happen overnight, in fact it make take years.

Being a community is like planting a garden. The plants don’t bear fruit right away. It takes constant, gentle care to keep the plants going. Sometimes weeds need to be pulled up. It can be messy. It may require effort when we don’t feel like it. But, the harvest is a beautiful thing.