PJ's, Flavored Coffee & A Monitor is NOT Church?

I’ve been listening to a lot of folks give me excuses of why they don’t go to church. I find it fascinating. The answers range from I’m an atheist to I was hurt by the church. The stories of which just make my blood boil. After getting over wanting to go confront the errant leader, I wish could apologize personally to every person who has ever been hurt. You see, I love the movement of God in the world, the grace afforded us by Jesus and the power to heal and sustain the Spirit of God provides.

None of which should be surprising because I am the main communicator for the Oswego campus of Wheatland Salem Church. We are a multi-site church on a mission to Love God, Love Others and Change the World.  We do actually believe we can do this though the power of the Holy Spirit to make us more devoted, connected and generous in this life. In so doing, almost anything is possible. 

I was asked this past week why we make a big deal out of the first Sunday in September? I answered that we call everyone back to the community of faith in the hope the experience of gathering together rekindles our zeal for the Lord. Zeal expressed throughout the ages and today by the psalmist in the psalm 122.

I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”
Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem.  Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together.
That is where the tribes go up—
the tribes of the LORD—
to praise the name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel.
There stand the thrones for judgment, the thrones of the house of David.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure.
May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.”
For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity. (NIV)

Psalm 122 was more than likely written by David. For him and the people of his time, God was only experienced in certain places, times and individuals. The excitement we hear in this psalm comes from an understanding that people would pilgrimage to the temple from far away to be in the presence of the Lord. Gathering as an assembly before God was wrapped in mystery, awe and fear. God was in the house!

We have lost a lot of that mystery, awe and fear. Church for some has become another suburban check mark of what makes up a good parent or citizen. Going to church – check! Making sure our children go to the right school, have the right teacher and play on the right team – check, check and check! You get the picture, however, have you ever stopped to ask the question and wonder about coming to church on Sunday morning. I think it’s honest to admit we all have asked the question, “What’s the point? Why do I need to come to church?

I have concluded you don’t. Now, please don’t disconnect or stop reading. The word church is not actually in the bible. The original Greek word to describe our gatherings is actually Ecclesia. The word we use in America was an off-shoot of the Greek to Latin to modern German called “Kirche.” The word literally meant “house of the Lord” and was used to refer to any ritual gathering place, Christian or pagan.[i]. The truth is the word ecclesia was never meant to refer to a place. It was really was a descriptor for a group of people who share a unique identity and purpose. It’s not about the building but the movement. A movement based on the radical idea that human kind was so depraved, God lessened himself for us by becoming man, dying for us, rising from the dead for us so that we could be forgiven, freed from the power of evil, from the shame and guilt it brings, and then along with the gift of life everlasting he provides the healing power of Jesus in our lives through His Spirit. This is the good news and it was never meant to be contained in a building, but it was to be experienced together. You can’t experience the joy of the fellowship of Jesus at home in front of a computer or a television. It can only be experienced when we are together. Without it, we miss out.  

I can liken it to practicing for a team sport or activity. I can practice by myself all day and night but I will never get the sheer joy of being with others with a common cause. It is one of the greatest learning lessons of all of athletics or band and of really any group activity is the experience of struggling, persevering and giving it all for a cause greater than oneself. Deep down with each of us is the longing to be connected to something with real meaning. It reminds me of a story…. 

More than 37,000 runners competed in the 2012 London Marathon. Wilson Kipsang, from Kenya, won the race in an impressive 2:04:44. Simone Clarke took more than three times as long, but her finish may be more impressive.

Simone is a 39 year old epileptic. Simone suffers about four seizures a day, and needed someone willing to train and run with her. Her friend, Tally Hall, agreed to run the marathon with her and help her if she had a seizure while running. But none of their training runs prepared them for what was to come.

On the beautiful spring morning of the London Marathon, Simone and Tally joined the tens of thousands at the starting point, and took off as the gun sounded. For the first seven miles, everything went well. It was at mile eight that pain from an ongoing stomach problem triggered Simone's first seizure. Tally caught Simone and got her safely to the ground. Simone was completely unconscious for 30 seconds before Tally could rouse her.

And then, remarkably, Simone woke, got up, and started running again. Over the next 18 miles, Simone had 19 more seizures, each time collapsing and losing consciousness for 30 seconds or more. Each time, Tally caught her, eased her to the ground, and protected her until she regained consciousness. And each time, Tally helped Simone up, and they continued.

'By the time we got to 15 miles," Simone said afterward, "I was in tears because I was so annoyed we had lost the pace. But by that stage I had already had lots of (seizures), and I was still standing, so I thought, stuff it, I'm just going to finish it." Simone and Tally crossed the finish line in 6½ hours. Considering the day, it was a time even the Kenyans would be proud of.[ii]

The lessons for the concept of team or a group who calls itself the ecclesia are numerous:

• Being together eliminates isolation and fosters connection.
• Being together reduces self centered thoughts and fosters a larger perspective.
• Being together reduces the diminishers of this life, offering us hope to overcome the challenges
• Being together reduces our thoughts that we have all the knowledge, creating a desire to learn more
• Being together reduced the power of idols by offering perspective on who is really in charge
• Being together reduces our prejudices by giving us experience and knowledge to love the differences
• Being together reduces our sense of ownership of our stuff (even accomplishments) giving us generous hearts.
• Being together reduces the risk of dehumanizing others by giving us an appreciation of for the power of a creative God. After all, it was God who created you. You didn’t choose to be born here and now. He did.
• Being together reduces the competing opinions of the world and elevates the absolute truth of God as we see it lived out in this life.
• Being together lightens the load through a connection to God, His people, their gifts, talents and resources.

In light of this list, the question is not, why come to house of the Lord, but why not? Why wouldn’t anyone want to connect with the people God has said sent to be witnesses to the rest of the world?

So, it’s the reason, I would ask us all to consider going to worship at the church of your choice every week, get connected to a group and find a way to give oneself to the only cause that matters: sharing the love of Christ.

Pastor Bob

[i] Source: Deep & Wide, Andy Stanley, 2013 p. 63-64

[ii] Source: "Epileptic runner Simone Clarke: I had 20 fits but I still finished the marathon," Metro UK (4-25-12)