I come from a long line of non-church-attending Christians. Truthfully, I never wanted to be one. Yet I find myself not in church like I once was. The days of Sunday School, Morning Worship, Evening Worship and Wednesdays is gone. Our church is a Sunday morning service only church and that is one of the reasons we chose to attend there. Add to that my weekend work schedule and away fall a few more opportunities to be in church. Finally, I just don't seem to need it like I used to. And this has worried me in light of my non-church-attending lineage. The weird part is that it doesn't worry me in a deep in my spirit kind of worry so much as a discomfort with changing what used to be my definition of devotion. FORSAKE NOT THE GATHERING OF YOURSELVES TOGETHER...
Hours of my life used to be spent in official titled ministry. Now, zero. In the official titled sense anyway. My best friends were my church family. We talked on the phone, vacationed together, worked together in the ministry, ate together. It was a very easy fit to the Acts definition of fellowship. Not so anymore.
I have wonderful church friends and they remain the hub of my world in the sense of support and comfort and the occasional gospel-inspired butt kicking. Still the old comfortable me isn't the same. And sometimes I am uncomfortable with how comfortable that is.
Then again, I have this world church through blogs that I come to several times a day. Lots of people would tell me it can't be but my blog church have been added to that list of fellowship and I need that like I use to need Sunday School and Wednesday nights. Only now, it's every day. I know the names of my friends children and pray for them. Just like the old days. Another church is arising in my life. Work church. A group of believers arising to speak of God and his goodness to one another and to gather at break time to pray. Moments in the morning over coffee sharing our hearts and the scripture that has spoken to us lately. Lunch break conversations about books that have made us think more about our own faith and walking into offices and hearing strains of "I am desperate for you..." quietly playing in the background. Walking out of tense meetings and hearing someone going down the hall laughing and talking out loud to Jesus, "Lord, you're gonna have to shut my mouth extra hard today!"
There are lots of news stories about lots of things but these churches arising from places without steeples are not on the CNN crawl. Maybe that's why I sometimes wonder if this is bonafide church. Sometimes I fear I have FORSAKEN THE GATHERING TOGETHER...
Well, this week I have gone to Metrosouth Church, blog church, work church, e mail church, text message church and home church in my family room. One hasn't been more inspiring than the other. In fact, at work church I raised my hands, cried and had a wonderful sermon spoken to me about my own life by a co-worker when I told her of the healing of the hole in my heart in 1971. Later in the conversation I said that everyone has a God-shaped hole. She replied, "Yes and yours was literally filled with Jesus when you were 4." In all the million times I've considered my healing, I had never envision that hole being filled with God. No pulpit ever produced such renewing of my spirit as that statement.
Back in the 1970s when I was still firmly enmeshed in the 'real' church, we sang a song...
I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God. Born of his spirit, washed in his blood. Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod; I'm a part of the family-the family of God.
Somehow today I understand that more than I ever have even though I spend less time sitting in a congregation than in my entire life. I am truly deeply grateful for the family of God. And I have decided that the blog church, work church, e mail church, text message church, home church is like the 'real' church. A creation of Christ to gather us together to encourage, exhort and love each other. It may even be a maturing church that has marched out of the doors and into the world to claim every corner whether literal or electronic.
I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God...
3 comments:
AMEN!
I'm glad to be your sister
Amen to Margie's Amen! My thoughts about 'blog church' ... it's God's way of reaching the shut-ins. The families and people that he removes the 'guilt' of not going to church even when circumstances are beyond them (I know ... about guilt ... being raised RC). God works in mysterious ways. I'm not sure this is the best 'church' for new believers that need the actual/physical fellowship of the believers ... but for the tired and weary Christians it's a good fit in the Body of Christ. (Even if I'm a toe ;)
I am so with you emotionally...but feel that I need to be present in a church - with walls - for Olivia's sake. Although our attendance is still somewhat irregular. Were it up to me (and not the Lord's prompting) I wouldn't be in church as much as I am.
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