I just scratched my nose, and noticed that my hands smell like a church. No joke. A congregation about twenty minutes from where we live is considering me for a music minister position, so my wife and I visited today. We were with church folks from 9:30 am to 8:00 pm. This included Sunday School, morning worship service, lunch, personnel committee meeting, choir rehearsal, evening service, and church business meeting. A lot of talking, a lot of listening, and a whole lot of hand-shaking. Long day. (Don't worry- I treated my wife to ice cream after it was all over.)
I have quite a bit I'd like to discuss about church. I think there are some shortcomings inherent in today's congregational model of church. For example, I think it's easier to have church than to be the church, and many have fallen into that trap of personal and congregational comfort. Perhaps I'll discuss this more in the future.
What I really wanted to remind myself of, and I hope you share in my reminder, is that Christians need church. Relationships among believers are worth the frustration, uncertainty, and challenge they sometimes bring. Paul reminded the leaders of the Ephesian church that God bought the church with his own blood (Acts 20:28), and emphasized numerous times the importance of continually strengthening each other.
No matter how your church chooses to worship, be thankful for the opportunity to worship together. If personalities clash, go beyond that with gratefulness for the challenge to grow yourself. Find joy in the ability to share God's love with a brother or sister who has experienced it in a similar, yet excitingly fresh way.
Sometimes I need to just stop and remember that God loves church a whole lot, and if I am to honor him, I need to love it too.
Your thoughts and words humble me. Yesterday was a very frustrating day for me, but I agree with you. My reluctance to interact in church stems partly from my introverted-ness and partly from my personal feelings about churches in general. Your words are a good reminder for me. If we end up in this church, it will be a challenge for both of us. But I can look forward to it, knowing I'll have you by my side to wade through the challenges with. I love you.
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