Does Church Get in the Way of Life?

This is a thought that crossed my mind as my wife and I came out of a movie today. Yet, its not so much the idea of church that I struggle with, but the way we do church in North America - does it get in the way of life?

I regard movies as a kind of modern day parables which, if we have ears to hear and eyes to see, we see something of the kind of life or the kind of humanity we are to be in light of God's vision for humanness. Being human in God's vision for us has much to do with caring for one another, sharing in each other's struggles, grieving together, consoling one another, working alongside one another, help one another succeed - in short being real, open, and ready to love one another. It has little to do with facades, hiding our vulnerabilities, putting on airs, pretending like things are okay when they are not. It has little to do with a rugged individualism, and so forth.

In light of what it means to be human in the most humane sense of the word, I also think that much of what we call church gets in the way of this humanness.

When we gather together, are we indeed real with one another? Do we come together to share our struggles, to help each other be strong, do we share life openly with one another - or do we bring numerous agendas that say, "I'm here, but life is okay with me." Do we gather together as a group of individuals keeping to ourselves?

Sometimes I think that what real life is about is people being open and transparent with one another - having nothing to hide - being vulnerable with one another. That also leaves us open to hurt - but do we trust one another to navigate the rhythms of life in which we hurt one another at times, but also forgive one another and are reconciled to one another - and somehow grow together with one another.

What does it mean to be a community, not centered in the idea of community - that we try somehow to maintain, but to be a community centered in Jesus Christ who helps us be open, vulnerable, and real with one another - I mean discovering what it means to love one another just as we are.

This kind of community, the way I believe church ought to be, is indeed messy, unpredictable, filled with struggle, but also hope - this kind of open and vulnerable community that is rooted in Christ, is where life happens - where we don't need to hide what goes on in our lives.

That is the kind of church that is filled with life and lives in the midst of life.

Is this not the kind of community you'd like to be a part?

Church: Being a Servant Community

When you ask people what church is you hear different responses. Depending upon one's experience, church might be seen as something good or something that has created pain. In attempting for church to have influence in society too often we have opted for images that control, regulate, or focus on privilege.

I have been wondering what it would look like for church to be seen as "servant community" in the world. As we emulate Christ in washing his disciples' feet, how might we live out our lives as community in the world, so that we are a servant community in the world -- perhaps first of all a servant community to Christ, and through our serving him, we follow his lead in serving the world.

A servant community does not exist for itself, but exists for serving God -- the one who has called the community into being. It seeks to serve, whether there is recognition or not, it seeks to serve, whether there is success or not, it seeks to serve, whether there is recognition that we excel at being servants. A servant community seeks to be incarnational, missional, being present to people in ways that enables the Spirit of God to connect with the hearts and lives of people whom God is seeking. As a servant community, we are the "hands of Christ" washing other's feet, discovering what it is God wants us to do. It is not about what we want to do!

As a servant community then, we need to spend more time not in figuring out how we are to be in the world, but to hear what God is saying to us and seeing what God is showing us so that we can be about what God is about in the world. It is a matter of discerning God's purposes and desires, rather than figuring out how we can attract more people, or how we can develop the right program that will have the most relevance. A servant community exists so that God can have his way in the world -- we are to be salt and light, not to bring focus upon us, but upon the purposes of God. We are called to be servant community to reveal the one whom we serve.

Someone once stated, that a church that seeks its own ministry or its own agenda ceases being the church in the world. We can only be church as we yield ourselves to the redemptive purposes of God in the world -- being used of God in fulfilling God's mission. The only way the church can fulfill this calling is for it to be a servant community.