It's been an amazing 2 weeks here at Countryside. Easter morning was wonderful! There were 45 visitors that morning. If we see 5 in the coming weeks we'll be excited. Actually, one family told a great story about how they arrived at our door the second week. They said they got ready to go to church, not knowing where they might end up. When they got into the car, they looked at each other and said "Do we need to go anywhere else?" They directed their car to our doors and joined in the combined service celebration that was a great departure from anything we've ever done before. We clapped with the praise team and reveled to the organ. We "combined" but did not "blend" giving space for both types of musical expression, and we changed the order of service so that it was neither one or the other, but a wonderful stand-alone service of worship. Many asked that we do it on a regular basis; some once a month, some four times a year. But very few seemed to be upset about having to share "their" pew with someone else, and overall it was a great success.
Yet, I'm not sure whether we were all excited about the service because of the potential for getting closer to God, or whether we were just excited to see the church full and perhaps have the opportunity to meet those who we don't see often. Not that the latter is a bad thing -- doing mission together is much easier when we know who we're working with. But the idea that we need to know everyone who comes through the doors is a very limiting one. Even I as a pastor don't know everyone. There are Boy Scouts and Quilters and people who come through these doors all of the time that I don't know. Somehow though we have gotten the idea that if someone worships in this space on Sunday morning that we should be one big, happy family.
I think that's exactly what we are. My family of origin is a big (6 siblings, spouse, kids, kids of kids, etc.) happy family. We come together for family gatherings a couple of times a year. And yet I would daresay that even though we know each other in one sense, in everyday matters we probably really do NOT know one another. We communicate electronically from time to time, but that is not a substitute for really knowing one another in the way that we get to know co-workers or close friends or our immediate family. As we live our lives in separate places with separate careers and ways of looking at life, we are all playing our part in the world. Do we love each other any less because we are not together all of the time? I don't think so. I have a brother who is in need of a kidney, and if I am declared a match you know I will donate it. But I haven't been a part of his day-in and day-out life for more years than I want to admit. But I still love him.
Perhaps the analogy doesn't completely work. However, we should be no less loving and caring for those we don't see week in and week out than those at "our" service -- or for that matter, than for those at "our" church! There are many better opportunities for getting to know each other than worship, which is essentially God's time to communicate with the community through the community, not simply our time to communicate with one another. Yes, part of what we are here for is mutual support and accountability, but we don't have to be intimately acquainted to be supportive, and our closer sisters and brothers can keep us accountable.
I loved the combined service, but I love our individual services too. They meet a special need for those who enjoy a particular style of reaching out to God and having God touch us back. I count it a blessing that they ALL reach me! I believe God has called us to provide more than one way to worship, even though we could, at present, accommodate everyone under one roof at the same time. What do you think? If a church can provide different worship styles, should they? Or should they be good stewards and "bunch up" and either blend, combine or force one style or another?
Thoughts?
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