The Church sometimes is a word used by those who are Christians to talk about the building that we meet in. But the Church is really a body of believers that have been brought together by God to serve in the advancement of the Kingdom. I don't think that we have taught or emphasized this enough in the past or present. I say this because recently we have lost a couple at our Church that lives right in our community. They attended for a while and the woman was even a part of my Sunday School class. She connected well with others in the class and enjoyed our worship very much. But her husband had a different outlook.The husband of this couple did not like the intimacy of our medium size Church. So one of my leaders told me in passing that Kyle (not his real name) decided that he and his wife would drive 20 miles one way to go and worship at another Church. Even though we have many new faces of all different age groups coming to the Church right now this still disturbed me. It bothered me because Kyle, his wife, and their child are a part of our community in many significant ways. It bothered me because I firmly believe that you should learn to connect with other Christians in your community and help the Kingdom to grow right where you are. Kyle decided that he would attend an up and coming mega-church where its easy to get lost and you don't have to connect with others as intimately. The old saying is true; "the Church has the thinking of the world in its pews!"
In a world that is increasingly closed off we need to be developing intimate relationships with others. We need this because life is usually overwhelming. We need this because it is God's plan for His people! In Ephesians 4:1-3 the Apostle Paul says "Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to live a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourselves together with peace (NLT)." This should be a simple task, but for many it is not. In our life with others and our life with God we only get back what we are willing to put in.
No matter where you live you need to be connecting with others in one of the nearest churches that believes the word of God to be true. You might have to travel 20 miles or you might just be 5 minutes from a body of believers that God wants to use you in. Those who shop for the Church that they want will probably never know true connection with others and with God. Those who give their best to Churches in their communities will know the love from God and others just like them.
4 comments:
I can relate to this. We just had a family leave the church after worshiping with us for 47 years. They had their reasons, some good, some not, but for whatever reason, it really hurt the church. I don't mean hurt the church based on the jobs they did or the money they contributed, I mean hurt the church in that it was like losing a family member to death. When you become part of a church family your absence becomes a lot like a death.
Good thoughts. I once caught myself a little boastful about someone who drove 30 miles to come to our church. Then I wondered what would cause them to drive past churches full of people from their own community...
It's a tough balance, isn't it? As the body grows and matures, it also tends to grow in numbers, which makes it harder to connect intimately. But the intimacy is a large factor in further growth and maturity. And yet, some churches are just the opposite...wanting intimacy at the expense of not sharing their faith and adding to the numbers. "Don't ruin our good small church atmosphere." Means no new people. It's a challenge.
Thanks for the comments guys. We are a fairly good size Church and new people are coming in with regularity, but I hate to lose someone for any reason. Part of the problem of ministering in the 21st Century is understanding how picky people are right now.
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