Words matter.
We might dismiss them as “just semantics,” but often they’re not. We choose words that consciously or unconsciously express how and what we think.
Last time I told you What I Learned By Missing Church. As I considered the responses I realized that my own title revealed something odd about my internal thoughts.
Do you see it?
What does it mean to “miss church”? Apparently, I equate “church” with “sitting in an organized, weekly worship service.” I didn’t do that, so in my mind I “missed church.”
Of course, I know better. I’ll bet you do as well. We know church isn’t a building, or a special room, where God lives so we can visit Him once a week. We know—but knowing isn’t doing. If “going to church” reveals a heart that’s narrowed “being part of a community” to “weekly worship service attendance,” I need to do some soul searching.
Please don’t misunderstand. I’m NOT saying we shouldn’t attend weekly worship, listen to teaching, etc. All of that’s an essential piece of what church is about.
But it’s only one piece of an infinite puzzle. This little episode reminds me to examine my words and what they reveal about my heart. I don’t want to go to church.
I’d rather do church.
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Rich, John and I decided a while back that we’re skipping out on services at Immanuel this coming week because we’re finally going to have some good weather.
Oh, we’re not going to the mountains or on a bike ride, although I haven’t got any probmem with those things instead of church sometimes. Instead,we’re loving our neighbors this coming Sunday morning.
See, our Missions Team has gone through the book “The Art of Neighboring” by Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon and the challenge is to take Jesus seriously about loving your neighbor…not just the neighbor you can’t see but the ones right next to you!
Our culture is so individualistic and so often afraid, even of our neighbors, that we don’t even know our neighbors; how could we possibly love them as Jesus told us to? We’re not instructed to get to know them so that we can invite them to church, not asked to get to know them so that we can ‘be a witness’ but rather we’re instructed to LOVE them for who they are as Gods beloved children. We just forget that he was serious about that instruction.
Since we live in a cul-de-sac we have an easier time of getting to know our neighbors, I’ll admit, but that just holds us to a higher standard, doesn’t it? That’s why this week we are brewing coffee and setting up a table on our driveway so that anyone in the hood can stop by and have a cup…sit a while…build community. Feel free to stop by if you want…all neighbors are welcome.
I don’t mind skipping out on Sunday services as long as I have any real opportunity to do what Jesus asked me to do.