26 days to 29: No More Churches

Today on my lunch outing, I rode with a colleague trying to find the Popeye’s chicken on this side of town. In our lost-but-not-really-lost exploration we drove down Valleydale, in the coolness of the beautiful day. My eyes darted left to right, right to left, somehow trying to capture the entire scene.

Beautiful subdivisions with regal names mounted on brick entrance signs and upscale fonts (with houses i want to live in but not pay for). Two golf courses. Most of this hidden by large areas of tall green forest areas that open up abruptly to 4-stop retail areas “within short driving distance” (with my real estate agent sales pitch cheerful voice) from the residential properties complete with shopping malls, drug stores, and restaurants.

Ever so often, we’d hit a clearing on either side of the two-lane road that held churches, of all denominations. Some we had very tall steeples, towering above the freshly painted parking lots, empty during the weekday work hour as we drove by, but no doubt complete with an educational wing and probably a community center wing. Some very small, one or two room edifices, one story, freshly painted. Coming across so many churches on this one road during our 10 minute drive made me think about my community and my church and all the churches that I passed on the daily basis and their significance and role in the communities in which they sit. Two things came to mind:

1. What’s the point of having a church in a community it doesn’t serve? Why need does the community have need for it?

In the Bible, Jesus tells the people in Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy labored and I will give you rest.”

Although I’m a member of a local congregation, I pass a gazillion churches on my way to my place of worship. I also pass by several communities. I wonder just how many weary, heavy laden spirits reside in these communities I’ve passed by today on Valleydale, and other days in my own community, and in the community where my church is.

I cannot speak for the churches I passed today, but out of the 5 or 6 churches (and I’m sure there are more) in my neighborhood, I can only recall two churches in my surrounding neighborhood that I have every received any correspondence from. How can I, their neighbor, one less than a half a mile away, receive the message of hope, peace, joy, and happiness and get what I need if I never step inside of those 4 walls? How many people, within walking distance of a church are on the verge of losing it, just needing to hear something from someone that can uplift their spirit, give wisdom about a decision, and generally make them feel better about life? Will I hear the message at all? Maybe. Maybe not.

A story comes to mind that I heard yesterday on NPR. The reporter went around asking people what they thought about when they thought about Barack Obama. They’re answers all included one resounding word: hope. Barack Obama gave them hope. One person brought hope to the masses. That’s powerful and profound. You are one person. Look at what is possible when one person reaches out to people around them. Grant it, we don’t have the money to run the “campaign” if you will, but we do have access to the community by virtue of being apart of it. I believe many churches are short armed in that they are not reaching out.

Just imagine what could happen if we…
asked Mrs. Johnson, whose house is an eye sore in the neighborhood because it needs a paint job, if she minded if we painted her home?
offered a ride to the mean elderly lady next door to the church to the Piggly Wiggly down the street to pick up her groceries and brought her back and help her unload them

What if we risked being involved…?


2. We don’t need another church building or another church expansion project.

Do we have more in common than are willing to admit?

What we need to is fill the one we got with services people can use and unite with others to be of service to communities we sit in. If there are 6 churches on one street all having Vacation Bible School, wouldn’t it save resources, reach more at once, and foster more fellowship if we had them all together?

There's got to be some way we can reduce the redundancy and consolidate church congregations. Are we all so different in how we believe and how we chose to worship that we need so many churches on one road to accommodate us all? Are these huge beautiful edifices really a testament to discipleship and communion or are they an example of just how divided the body of Christ is. (speaking from a Christian perspective)

We’ve expended great effort and resources and have done an excellent job at building architecturally strong edifices in which to gather in.

But how much effort and resources are we or are we willing to expend, in financial capital and human resources, in building up the hearts of people who live daily outside of that place of worship?

Just a thought that came to me while we were lost, trying to find Popeye’s and the 2 piece and a biscuit $1.99 special…

"There is a way, no matter what they say..."
Mos Def

Uprooted or Firmly Planted

It’s an “orange moon” kinda morning (song by Erikah Badu). This morning is kind of lazy and overcast, and slow, easy. No stressful situations yet, just the hum of the air conditioning and overhearing the voice of a coworker on the phone and murmur of conversation in the next cubicle and the tap of my fingers on the keys. Just being right now. Just breathing. Just living.

This morning I got out of the bed on time (instead of lingering under the covers like usual), went down to toast bagels, almost sliced off the top of my middle finger on my left hand. Ok, well maybe not that bad, but I spent about 10 minutes running water over the deep cut to stop it from bleeding (it cut a little of my finger nail too), pouring hydrogen peroxide over it to be sure it was clean, then applying that triple antibiotic ointment over it so it won’t get infected, all the while debating whether I needed to go to the hospital and get stitches because I’d never been cut so deep.

I debated whether the knife had cut something serious, like a nerve, but concluded that all I saw was pink flesh when I opened up the wound to see just how deep it was. After a shower, I finally wrapped a band aid on it, having stopped the bleeding enough that I wasn’t afraid I’d pass out from blood loss on the way to work. Looking at it right now, the band aid has a round red spot on it slightly smaller than a dime. I’ll change the band aid in 22 minutes and keep the ointment on it. DO NOT USE a butcher knife to cut a bagel, especially just waking up. HAZARDOUS!

Despite the overcast morning, I noticed how beautiful the plants are today. The greens were deep and dark and bright as I drove along the highway, and the water soaked tree trunks, darkened by yesterday’s rain, added some sort of contrast to the greens and added crispness and character to the trees. Those dark trunks made them more tangible I suppose.

Yesterday while driving in the Civic Center area of town, we ran across a tree that had toppled over. This tree was massive and had a massive root based that looked like someone had just been pulling a giant weed out of the ground, its yellow roots soiled with mud exposed for all to see just how deep and wide its roots ran. There was a huge plug in the space where it stood, open and loose soil, a gaping hole. It was shocking to me that as many times as I’ve passed by that tree, it never occurred to me what it’s support system looked like underneath that allowed it to live. And this morning, as I’m typing, a thought comes to me about life.

That tree was huge, but I had never paid it much attention until it was down, roots exposed, seemingly defeated by too much rain softening the soil that held it in the ground. And it makes me think of me, of my family, of my friends, of life in general. They say times are hard right now in the world. With an ongoing recession, jobs being lost, people unsure of their futures, it's understandable how many can feel just like that tree. Feeling down and helpless because the ground that once held our roots and protected them and made room for them is now oversaturated with the circumstances and slowly, we feel the sway of the wind and the pull of gravity leveling us to the ground. And there we are, uprooted, and wondering how to get up.

It saddens me as I watch recent news about individuals who have had their roots exposed and unsupported losing it, killing their own families, and even innocent bystanders in some cases, due to the stresses of life- losing jobs, wife leaving them, etc. Perhaps they were like this tree, had roots dug deep and wide, but over time, the rain just kept falling and falling and falling until the ground gave way and couldn’t support the weight of its growth and toppled. Perhaps we are all like that tree and with all the rain and shaking going on, it’s time to check to see that the ground you’re planted in can withstand the rain and keep you grounded.

There’s a gospel song that comes to mind that says “In times like these, we need a Savior. In times like these, we need an anchor. Be very sure, be very sure. Your anchor holds, and grips the Solid Rock.” There have been times when I’ve sung this song and just cried, touched by the songwriter's understanding of trials, uncertain times, and opposition, and also encouraged because I know that I have an anchor that has held me in the darkest of times, in the most uncertain of times, in the most uneasy of times, and even today, as I write this email, even today he still holds me grounded.

I am thankful this morning that I was taught that no matter what is going on, God is still in control. And let me tell you, over the past 6 years, sometimes knowing that one thing ALONE has kept me from losing my mind. I pray that each of us, who have the peace of God, will share that with others around us.

People are in need of a message of hope and to know that God has a future for them, though their days right now may look bleak. My prayer is today is that I can shine my light to give others hope even as their tree is toppled over. Hope that they can be rooted in soil that will not give way to the rain, and continue to stand tall during the storm.

I love you and speak peace to your situation. The Creator is in control.