A friend of mine named Morgan wrote a email to me the other day and this was part of what she was asking me:
Somehow I was talking about how my views (on life or theology) were constantly being broadened, and a small example that came to mind was something you said. one of the last weeks of school, after that play we went to, before you went to Perkins... you said some one-liner about you might have different views on church or something... in regards to missing church Sunday morning for hanging out last Saturday night with people you won't see again. I think I know where you're coming from, but when I tried to explain it, it didn't really work. I was hoping (for the both of us) if you wouldn't mind elaborating a little bit-- cus she said she believes that is wrong...and I said I'd ask you to clarify. Would you mind?
I thought that I wanted to remember how I answered this so that I can maybe come back to it and others can reply to these views.
As you mentioned our views broaden and some times we learn that there isn't any clear cut write and wrong for the situation that we are in. Crazy huh... Some things require Discernment!!! So my views of the church is that Church is not about a building or a specific time of gathering. church is about a group of people that follow the same God and are united by The Spirit of God. So if I am with my friends at night that are Christians I am at Church. Of course the Church is more than this as well and order in the Church is also important so we can't rule out the importance our churches (organized communities). I am learning (being challenged) by Day 17 of the Purpose Driven Life and I am trying to go through the scripture it quotes to see what it says. Ask me about this later on. We also need to look at what God wants us to do with the truth of Sabbath and of gathering together. But specifically with the situation that night at Perkins While I definitely don't think my discernment for this situation is how everyone should discern it for themselves. For me I believe that Dordt College and my Dordt friends have been a Church community for me and it has done much more of a church for me than any other congregation that I have been a part of my years at Dordt.
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Ready for a long comment? :)
The idea that church is a group of believers that meet together is an idea that goes back to the Acts 2 church. That is the type of community that I hunger for in our churches. It is also the type of community that I have seen best exemplified in the circles of friendship that God has placed in my life…not in the church building itself. Your view of church goes along with the perspective that worship is not just what we do on Sunday mornings. Worship is how we live for God each day, from the time we wake up until we close our eyes to sleep at night. I agree with what you are saying, Mike. But, I think it takes a mature Christian to have the perspective you do. I might be wrong, but I don’t think someone who is new to Christ would understand having church outside of the church building. The habit of attending the church service is necessary for spiritual growth. My philosophy probably goes back to a time in my life when I was ready to hang up on church. I needed to struggle and I needed the habit of continuing to go to church to broaden my perspective. I know that I’ll always struggle with the institution of church; but I struggle because that is where my passion is, not because I don’t think it is valuable.
I was reading through one of my old journals the other night. Do the names Vincent and Arthur sound familiar to you? I know that night in St. Louis was one I will never forget. There were eight of us wandering around downtown at YS looking for a place to eat before one of the events that night. That’s when we ran into Vincent and Arthur, two homeless guys on the street. We walked into the busy restaurant and I remember hearing people from our very own youth ministry convention walking by and making jokes and rude comments about our friends on the street. I think that was when we knew, along with Rick, Andrew and Shiela, that we had to invite them in to share a meal with us. I don’t remember what I had to eat that night or what exactly we talked about. I do remember that our new friends felt so blessed to be welcomed and accepted into our “church”. And all we did was offer them acceptance, some lettuce and a couple of beers. I’ll also never forget that Vincent told Rick, Andrew, and me to follow our dreams a hundred times because he had lost his. That was the best “church service” I ever attended. That is what it’s all about…accepting people for who they are instead of who we want them to be, showing love, and building relationships with people from all walks of life. That is what I hunger for in our church buildings. But that is also why the people I get to know and the relationships I make in this life are so sacred to me.
How is your reading of the Purpose Driven Life coming? I’m stuck on the last couple of days myself…I’ve been lazy lately. Maybe I’ll have to go back and take another look at Day 17. Any new thoughts? Please share.
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