So I really love my friends, family, and all of the crazy people in my life that are constantly encouraging me and driving me to be consistent, be more loving, and truly consider what my life should look like in this crazy world that we live in.
Lately we've been talking a lot about faith and problems with church. In Biblical times, the early church was growing. It says in Acts that numbers were being added to it daily! We are talking hundreds. Because there was something about it--something authentic and something different and something attractive that was drawing people to it. Something that seems to be missing from churches today, which to be honest tends to evoke images of little old ladies, booming organ music, boring sermons and lame guilt trips. But Devin, Jason, David and several others have been having discussions lately about what the church could and should look like, living actively in community and promoting service and social justice throughout our world. Joel and I have been talking about the things we think are missing. And today Joel's brother was talking about our complacent congregations--people that are showing up each Sunday set to receive and never really giving. Our pastor today talked about racism and classism and other issues that keep members of the church from true community.
The fact is, Jesus' love is transformative. No matter how often we reject Him, He is loving us (past, present, and future)--demonstrating that through His ultimate sacrifice on the cross and His healing ministry during His life on earth and today through the power of the Holy Spirit. But many of our churches don't seem transformed, and don't even offer people many areas to show that if it's present in their own lives. So Joel's dad had this idea which expands on the analogy of the body of Christ. He talks about fishing, and how today we "cast our lines" in isolation, as opposed to a more effective way of casting our nets, the way people fish when they want big results.
So, since I'm always searching for relevance, I was trying to figure out what he meant and how to really apply that in the church, and here's the basic workings of an idea that I've come up with (credit going mostly to Joel's dad and everyone that I listed above. Basically I'm just compiling what they've said): What if churches had a centralized way that they ministered to each other--everyone giving and receiving as was intended? I can envision a huge database of members, skills, availability, gifts, etc. When I did volunteer coordination at World Relief, a lot of people couldn't figure out what their gifts were and only wanted to donate their time in a general way. What if someone could take 20 minutes with members of the church and help really identify ways they could serve--be it tutoring high schoolers, a free tennis lesson, offering childcare (mom's with several kids could handle one more), space in their home, training on excel and other databases, vocational training, ESL training, music lessons, a homecooked meal, microfinance loans, or clothing donations? The list could go on and on and on!! And if there was a way people could access these potential ministries or notify the church of their needs--with no embarrassment because everyone was doing it as a part of the same unified family. The church could actually be MEETING those needs in a tangible way and not just dumping money off to parachurch organizations they think could do it better. The church might become more relevant in our communities. And as those around us see the way we truly care for each other, it might be something they want to be a part of. As they see the way we really love others, the way we share our lives, they might decide there is something to this Jesus business. And isn't that what the early church was all about? We aren't supposed to be doing it alone.
7 comments:
I've been interested in this idea of Dad's for years and only slowly coming to a realization of how it might work. I totally think this is something that churches could do (and some probably are). I'm envisioning it as a church version of Freecycle. Can't wait to see other people's comments and suggestions about how to go about this.
I LOVE this idea. My church actually started to do something like this when we first started, but I'm not sure what happened to that. We tried to make a database of skills that we could use to help each other. I'm going to have to ask and see where that project stands.
There is so much that we (the Church) could do to help each other and the world. And with everyone doing something, we could make a huge difference. This is supposed to be a part of the beauty of the Church as the Body of Christ. We each have different gifts and ways we can best serve, but we all share the calling to serve.
I like your thought about someone taking 20 minutes with someone to help them really identify where they can serve. I think a lot of times we don't see some of the most obvious ways we could serve others without some help pointing it out.
And why limit it to individual churches? What if every church in an area worked together to create a database of who is willing to serve in what areas and gave them opportunities for service. Maybe each church could focus on something different, and members from churches all over that area would join together to work for the Kingdom. Now that's a picture of the Body of Christ at work.
I love this idea. I think a lot of times, people don't think they have much to offer. So helping them discover something that they have to give would be a gift to them in and of itself. But then encouraging them to actually use their gifts for others would probably be the more difficult part. How would we keep a system like this from being mainly populated by the 10% of the church who is already doing all of the work?
exactly robin, that's what i'm trying to figure out. it would be so easy to get people to do! and yet impossible at the same time...maybe a smaller church that is shame oriented? ok, that was a joke...but i really don't know!
i don't know...guilt is an excellent motivator. :o)
It's brilliant. It such an obvious and simple solution to actually being the church. It really baffles me that we don't have most churches functioning on this basic level.
I have a secret: I'm helping organize a babysitting co-op at my church. And I'm excited about it. But, my secret strategic plan is to have it morph into a "time bank" basically a large database of skills and a whole church (alternative) economy of sharing with each other. We'll see how it goes. In my research I found this site that seems like a useful online tool for creating a database:
http://www.helpinghero.com/
all for now. Peace.
As a secular kind of guy, I like this idea. It makes churches a force for good in society, and creates a welcoming and positive community, which is what's drawn me to church at various points in my life.
And it's also something that secular people have tried, but failed at. The communitarian movement tried to offer this to secular communities, but it never took off. I'm glad that religious communities have done this effectively throughout history.
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