Finding God in Church
I've been reading Lillian Daniels and Martin Copenhaver's wonderful book on ministry called "This Odd and Wondrous Calling: The Public and Private Lives of Two Ministers". In a chapter entitled "Staying in Church", Daniels talks about finding God in nature, in the majesty of the Grand Canyon. Then she says:
"...But to me, the affirmation that God can be found outside the church has never seemed like much of a claim. The true wonder is that God can be found inside the church, among quirky, flawed and broken people who may have little in common and yet are bound to one another. What an unlikely setting in which to encounter God! But the Christian God seems to like to surprise us by showing up in the most unpromising places, like a man from Nazareth and in a motley gathering of people known as church.
God throws us together in the church and says, in essence, "Here is where you get a chance to learn how to live with other people, to forgive, and even to come to see God in one another. After all, if you can find God here, you can find God anywhere."
I am always amazed by people who think they can get along without the church, find God in nature or by the lake, live without the need for community. I am sure it works for some people, all I know is it would never work for me. Of course, I can see God in nature, but that's not worship. I need to be with other people to truly worship. Of course, I can appreciate the needs of the world, but how can I do anything about it without the avenues of ministry the church provides? I can probably tell you more that's wrong with the church than you can imagine. Just get a bunch of preachers together and you can hear it all. Quirky, flawed, broken, you bet! But the amazing thing is Christ still promises to be present where ever two or three are gathered in his name. He still makes himself known in the breaking of the bread. Maybe someone else can be a Christian in isolation, but personally, I need the church if I am to find God present in this world.
This week in Vacation Bible School. We will have over 400 kids, more than half from outside our immediate church family. It will be quirky, flawed and probably broken in a few places, but it will be joyous and wonderful and glorious to behold. It will be noisy and crazy and grand and I am sure we will find God present somewhere in the mess and the mix. That's what it means to be "church", and I for one can't live without it.
Remember next Sunday we go to summer worship hours with traditional worship in the sanctuary at 8:30 and 10:00 and SHINE, our contemporary worship service in the CLC at 10:00am. On Sunday SHINE will be led by the Vacation Bible School children, teachers and musicians. Come and "Soar" (that's the theme of VBS) with our kids in their grand celebration next Sunday.
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