I have seen life; I have seen death... and everything in between. Not of life as the state of living and breathing as a being and death as the state of ceasing to do those things. No. The interaction of being to being, that's what I see live and die, and it's just as painful as the former.
... and before we move any further, just a reminder...
Disclaimer: Richard's late night musings are written at a time of night when Richard thinks he's exceptionally clever and witty and has thoughts that would blow the mind of even the greatest of minds. He knows that he'll probably look back and say "What was I thinking??" if he were to read it another time (just as he thought "Wow I used the word 'mind' twice in succession just now") so he probably hasn't proofread it and probably never will. Thank you for your cooperation.
This is a late night musing on community because I have just had an amazing Sabbath going to church which is not something that has happened as of late.
Of course, I've found elements of a church enticing: the speaker, the praise team, the potluck, but what I found enticing today surpassed all that. It was community. It was togetherness.
And I didn't find it in the big gestures and presentations. I saw it in the smallest things.
It was when the children's storyteller was trying to get the microphone to work, it burst on with a loud squawk. She shot a glance back at the guy running the board. He returned a sheepish look with a slight grin of amusement. "I'm looking at you, [insert name]," she said across the now stable microphone levels. Chuckles came from the congregation and from myself as well as the storyteller returned to telling the children their life lesson for the service.
It was when one of the members walked across half the sanctuary to me and my cousin and told us that she had seats behind her where we could all sit with our friends so that we didn't have to split up.
It was when we sat down in those seats and people around us gave us looks only of happiness, welcoming us into their house of worship with a smile.
It was when one of the members cracked a joke with us while we were in line at potluck.
The weather, the members, the community was all so inviting and warm that even Goldilocks would have been proud.
I hadn't felt that level of community in a long time in such a large body of people. I've met many people who foster that caring aura as individuals, as families, and as small groups of people, but to see such a large community of people from different walks of life who throw themselves into a collective pot to make a church thrive has been negligible for a long span of my life... of course that's relative to the length of my life at this point.
I used to feel that at one of the churches I considered home, and I'm sad that I have to use the past tense of that word. I used to feel the senses that I experienced today. But again, just as I have seen life, I have seen death. Maybe not total death yet, but I have seen the process of dying taking place in many forms. Just as with death of the physical being, you can chalk it up to many external causes, but whatever they may be, death is taking place in the internal places. Yes, the church has shrunk; yes, participation is waning; and yes, many other things are going downhill. It may be caused by external things such as movement of pastors or changing of church policies, but at it's core, death is taking place in the internal.
Just as there is a disconnect between the members of the body when a person is sick and dying, so to it is with the body of Christ. There is disconnect in some way that is weakening the communication and support that helps the body to thrive. If that need for communication and support is broken, the part of the body that is not lacking it will atrophy.
And if the body cannot function, how can it then reach out to other beings? THIS is the crux of it. If a church can't hold itself together as it is, what makes you think it can hold more people without its walls giving way? There must be structural integrity within to have strength without.
The church shrinking is just a side effect of a much bigger problem: the body not functioning as a body.
This problem in and of itself is very complicated which is probably why so many books and seminars have been created to address it. I'm not gonna touch it with a ten-foot pole... but I will say, THIS message was pretty good in talking about some of those problems.
What I'm saying here is very cliche... like, this isn't new. You know this, and I know this. I try to make things sound easy and simple when, in fact, they aren't. In fitting something into a short blog post so that I can still get enough sleep tonight, the fat is trimmed, and the lean meat is displayed. So I acknowledge that there is MUCH more to making a living, breathing community than merely saying "get along." Again, I'll leave it up to the more learned to help address the many issues that plague a dying church.
As is always the case, the church is made of people that determine the direction a church will take, but that isn't limited to the role of pastor. It's a layman's problem. Every person sitting in the pews is accountable to what goes on in the building. Yes, a good leader is needed to spur this revolution of community, but a battle is not as dependent on the generals as it is the foot soldiers.
Are you holding to your jurisdiction as a foot soldier? Is your corner of the fort ready for the impending attacks? Are you encouraging others to do the same? Passivity in church is tempting, I know. Those pews are pretty comfortable. That speaker can keep on speaking. Those singers can keep on singing. You can just keep on watching. Well in the same way that waiting for the Lord is not a passive waiting, it is actively preparing.
All too often we sit at the windows watching for the Coming, when our brother has fallen asleep at his window. Keep watch with your brethren. Prepare them and yourself for what is to come. Are you connected? Are you taking action as a body? For you do not know the day nor the hour... when one of "the least of these" will come knocking at your church door looking for Him. And when they see how you portray the body of Christ, will they see an emaciated patient lying on a death bed, or will they see a warm community that says with arms open wide, "Come. See what we have found in Christ."
Best Wishes!
~Richie
