Tuesday, May 3, 2011

The People Are The Church

Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. -- Acts 20:29

Sunday was a special day across Alabama. A day of prayer, the governor said. Yeah. It was that and so much more. It was a day of thanksgiving, a day of mourning, a day of crying out to God.

Rev. Larry Corder stood in the parking lot Sunday morning and looked out at the congregation gathered around him. The remains of the Alberta Baptist Church building were clearly evident in the background of the video. Just one more destroyed building in a sea of death and destruction. Heartache compounded by the loss of a refuge.

Yet Corder reminded the people that God's church isn't a building. It's the people. Losing a church building hurts because there are so many memories we associate with it. It is the site of baptisms and weddings and funerals. It is a place of Sunday worship and Wednesday fellowship. It is laughter during vacation bible school and joy as a new believer joins the fold. Memories remain in our hearts even as we mourn the loss of the building.

Because it is just a building. A church is the people who pull together during a crisis. A church is the love that reaches out to comfort and hold the lost. A church is the face of Jesus grieving with His people even as they draw from His strength.

It's impossible to make sense of this horrible tragedy. But we can find strength in the body of Christ, the people who last long after the building is gone.
 

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Let Others See Jesus

"In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." -- Acts 20:35

The Bible footnotes always mention that this statement by Jesus isn't included in the Gospels. We can only assume that not all of Jesus' words were recorded and that this statement was handed down orally. I am grateful that Paul chose to share it with us. It's simple truth rings out just as clearly today as I'm sure it did when Jesus spoke the words.

Most of us want to help those less fortunate than we are. We want to give a little money, say a prayer or two, and maybe, just maybe, volunteer a little when it's convenient. We want to do good -- on our terms, in the way we choose, when we choose. Usually that means keeping those we are helping at a distance. We don't, after all, want to care too much.

Yet, we are called to care. We are called to step in, to reach out, to touch those in need, those cast aside, those needy and hurting. It is what Jesus did. If He lives inside of us, how can we do anything less?

When I lived in Hollywood, I remember the white vans that only came out at night. The organization served homeless teenagers. They gave out sandwiches and either a hot or cold beverage. Of course, they also offered the love of Jesus. A warm bed and safe place to stay was available to any teenager willing to give up drugs and alcohol. A few teenagers accepted. Others felt more comfortable on the street. Some were afraid they'd be sent back home and, for them, life was safer on the streets.

If the group had gone out first proclaiming Jesus' love, the teenagers would have responded with disdain. They couldn't see His love through all their misery. Instead, the group started by trying to alleviate the misery and then made sure the recipients knew it came from Jesus.

It wasn't easy. These kids were scared and dirty. They were tough, as only youngsters who have been cast aside to fend for themselves can be. They were the forgotten, the ones that often slip through the cracks. Sometimes they used drugs and alcohol to lessen the pain of rejection and the horror of sexual abuse. The counselors never gave up. Every night the white vans roamed the streets.

That's what we are called to do. To go forward, to help the less fortunate, the outwardly unlovable. To provide a ray of hope, a kind word, a helping hand. Not because it's easy because it isn't. But we're supposed to do it anyway.

When we invited Jesus into our lives and hearts, when we welcomed His sacrifice and gift of salvation, we also accepted a responsibility. As His followers, it is our job to do for others, to treat others, as He would. It isn't an easy walk. But it's nothing compared to what He did for us.