Well . . .

It dawned on me the other day, in all places—a church, that Jesus never did his ministry inside of a church building.  He did all of his ministry outside, or inside of people’s homes, anywhere, but a church building.  Those times he did happen to be in the sanctuary, he seemed to irritate those who were gathered to the point that one congregation wanted to stone him to death.  I’ve preached a few of those sermons.  But, it hit me like a ton of bricks . . . Jesus never did his ministry within the walls of a church. 

In W.P. Kinsella’s novel, Shoeless Joe, there is a line that is spoken to a hidden voice to the main character about building a baseball field in the middle of a Iowa cornfield: “If you build it, they will come.” (Actually it was, “If you build it, he will come”.  It alluded to the main character’s deceased father.)  This quote pretty much sums up the game plan of the “church” for the past several hundreds of years . . . if you build it, they will come . . . if you program it, they will come . . . if you entertain them, they will come.  Everything is focused upon the people coming to the “church”.  This plan worked for a while, but it hasn’t had much success lately . . . as quick as people are coming in the front door, just as many—if not more—are heading out the back door.  The scary thing about this attitude, even as it continues to fail, is that it is still a prevalent attitude among a lot of those who serve within the church.  Where did this model come from . . . it is not a truly biblical model as best as I can ascertain from my understanding . . . though, I must admit, I have fallen for it through the years in my own ministry.

I know that most people think that I am joking when I tell them that one of the reasons I went into the ministry was that if I was going to have to go to “church” every Sunday, I might as well be the one doing all the preaching.  I seem to enjoy hearing myself talk.  The truth is, I am not real big on going to “church”—at least organized “church” as it is today—if I am not the one leading the experience. Trust me, I am no pulpit giant by any stretch of the imagination . . . I don’t think that what I have to say is any more important than what anyone else has to say . . . I’m not the gatekeeper to the kingdom; but, I do think that it is one way to get me into “church”.  “Church”, as it is primarily practiced today, does not work for me . . . didn’t work thirty years ago either . . . thus, I became a minister.  

Actually, I received a call to follow Jesus.  I thought that Jesus was within the walls of the “church”.  That is what I was led to believe.  I should have been listening more closely, because that is not what was being said.  Trust me, Jesus has led me lots of places and few of them have been within the confines of the four walls of a building called a “church”.  Most of my deepest and most touching experiences of Jesus and his call upon my life have been outside the walls of the “church” . . . in fact, they didn’t involve buildings at all, but people.  It has been through people . . . relationships with people . . . that I have experienced Jesus the most prevalent within my life.

Because of that, why is it that the “church” continues to buy into this idea that ministry is a series of programs or projects within the confines of its structure that will bring people to Jesus?  I mean, Jesus did not minister within a “church” . . . no, Jesus was among the people.

There is the little children’s ditty about “here is the church . . . here is the steeple . . . open the door and see all the people.”  Problem is . . . there are no people!  I was taught that the church was the body of Christ in the world.  I was also taught that whenever two or three people gathered in Jesus’ name, he would be present.  In the presence of Jesus, is that not the body of Christ . . . is that not the “church” as Jesus understood it?  I think so.  I have heard countless clergy . . . countless ministers . . . countless laypeople . . . all say, “Church is not a building, but the people.”  They say it, but do they believe it?

Now, do not get me wrong.  I love the “church” . . . I enjoy my time that I spend in “church” each week.  But it is not because of the building.  It is not because of the worship service.  It is not because of the study group.  It is not because of the Bible study.  Not because of any fellowship groups or program we might have.  No, I do not enjoy my time because of the “church” as most folks understand it; but, because of the people.  I love the people I get the opportunity to share with each week . . . I love the fellowship . . . I love the sharing . . . I love the intimacy . . . the care and the love.  It is when I am among them . . . relating to them . . . that I come to experience the “church” . . . that I experience Jesus.

The “church”, as most of us know it, is on a nexus . . . either towards extinction or of becoming what Jesus intended it to be.  I doubt seriously if it will die tomorrow, but from the pulpit I serve, the “church” is struggling.  It is struggling with the reality that they have built it and no one is coming.  And, why should they?  Jesus came to the people.  Jesus ministered among the people.  Jesus taught among the people.  There were no “walls” hemming him in . . . and, so it was in the early church.  Somehow, we strayed away from the path of Jesus.

The “church” as we know it is not the answer.  The words of Shoe, in the comic strip above, are truer than any of us really want to admit.  Jesus knows the answer . . . but, are we going to listen?  To really listen and follow?  As always, Jesus is the way. 

Whine, I Mean Wine, Festival

Sometimes in life you have to do things that you are uncomfortable with.    Since starting to work at the university the wife has always wanted to attend the annual wine festival hosted by the university’s foundation.  This is a big week long celebration in which all the activities center around wine and food.  The university brings in several big name chefs for seminars on wine and food.  Then on the last two days they set up a huge tent, bring in wineries, caterers, and a host of other wine-related items for a big two-day blow out wine tasting party.  The cost for each night’s tasting is $85 a person—a little out of my league.  Ever since she learned about this event she has wanted to go.  So . . . when the dean of the College of Education (which my department falls under) offered free tickets to attend one of the nights, I took a chance and asked for two tickets.  Lo and behold, I got two tickets.  Last night we attend the wine festival in all of its glory.

Talk about a person out of his element . . . I felt lost and overwhelmed at the festival.  I felt way out of place.  First of all, I am not a wine person.  I am no connoisseur of wine, fine or not.  My experience of wine is drinking whatever it is that is offered to me by the wife before we eat a meal.  But, I do know one thing about wine—at least for me—and that is that it must have a cork and not a screw on cap.  Otherwise, wine is wine.  The festival was a haven for those who love wine, like to drink it, like to talk about it, and like to run around swirling their wine glasses and sniffing the contents.  It was a far cry from my familiar stomping grounds of beer festivals.

Second of all, it was crowded.  Being an introvert among a huge crowd of people I did not know, I was overwhelmed with people.  There were people everywhere . . . people drinking wine . . . people eating food . . . people talking . . . people squeezing around people-made traffic jams . . . all under a great big tent.  And, it looked like they were all enjoying themselves!  Just made me uneasy being among all those people.  I felt like I was in WalMart . . . just a classier crowd than your typical WalMart.  Everyone seemed to stop right in the middle of the aisles talking and blocking the path for everyone.  Everyone crowded in front of others even though it was plain to see that there were lines of people waiting their turn.  Yep, just like Wally World only classier and with wine.

Third of all, it was hard to hear.  With all of those people yakking away I had a hard time hearing anything that was being said to me.  Now, I cannot blame it all on the people or the wine.  Years ago I worked building grain bins—I was the guy on the inside with the impact wrench.  It was a very loud and noisy job and way before OSHA required hearing protection.  Long story short—I pretty much sacrificed part of my hearing to that job years ago and it is difficult for me to hear in large crowds.  Basically I spent the evening nodding my head up and down.  I have no idea what was being said.  I probably ended up agreeing to something that I will regret later.  But, hey!  There was probably nothing important being said as the whole evening centered around wine.

 

My experience at the wine festival has proven—once and for all—that I am not a wine snob.  I am not some sophisticated, well educated, well dressed and groomed individual who basks in the glory of fine wines . . . or even has delusions of doing that.  Nope, it is just not my element.  I am a beer snob through and through.  I don’t need a fancy glass to drink my beer as I can do that straight out of the bottle—which is something that wine snobs frown upon.  Wine is fine, but beer is my comfort zone.

And so, I fulfilled my husbandly duty and took the wife to the big wine festival.  She had a wonderful time as she got to sample some mighty fine and expensive wines that we would have never been able to afford.  I survived . . . I survived because it was a wine festival.  They served wine.  The wine eventually took the whine out of me.  It was an educational experience and one everyone should experience at least once in his or her lifetime.  I am not sure if I will ever do the wine festival again—even with free tickets, but if the university’s foundation ever decides to host a beer fest . . . count me in!  At least I won’t feel out of place!  Ah, the things we do for love!