Church.
As I've wandered back into life in L.A., and have started regularly attending my home church again, it has been interesting to come again, and to transition back into the church community after being gone at seminary for three years, and undergoing some spiritual, emotional, and personal transformation during that time.
On one hand there are several things I feel out of synch with -- like that all of the Bible passages are read from the NIV with only masculine language (I am not now, nor will I ever be, a "brother" in Christ to anyone), that often people up front seem to focus only on individual righteousness at the exclusion of communal and public virtue, that "sinners" often seems to refer to those non-Christians that are going to pollute us with all their bad behaviors, that "sin" is only thought of as something you do and not as something we are all in bondage to and needing freedom from, etc. etc. etc.
But there are also lots of things I do like -- a thriving homeless ministry, friends I have known for many years, the support the church gave me through seminary, my own history with the congregation, the great range of diversity (racially, ethnically, economically, socially, etc.) of the congregation, the enthusiastic and vibrant worship singing by the leaders and the congregation, a Sunday school class taught by someone who I look up to as a theological mentor, and an overall feel of laid-backness.
But did you ever notice how you can make a list of all these things about a church, and at the end of the day, it's not necessarily about these things, but about some kind of feeling or impression the Holy Spirit is able to give you through the church? This morning reminded me of that.
As I was sitting in worship, there were so many different people around me, and all of us, in our different ways, were coming together and coming before God to worship. There was a homeless man sitting in front of me with some very strong body odor - but it was also a lovely scent that communicated that we don't have to be clean to come to Jesus. There was a guy behind me who couldn't hold a tune to save his life, but he belted out those praise songs at the top of his lungs. What a sweet sound that was - a sound that communicated passion and freedom to be himself in the community. Then there was the woman in front of me covered in tattoos, who without realizing it greeted me twice during the "give your neighbor a high-five" time, and the man with his young son beside me who was wiggling throughout the whole service.
It was beautiful, and I was reminded why it is that my soul so loves and needs to be a part of this community.
On one hand there are several things I feel out of synch with -- like that all of the Bible passages are read from the NIV with only masculine language (I am not now, nor will I ever be, a "brother" in Christ to anyone), that often people up front seem to focus only on individual righteousness at the exclusion of communal and public virtue, that "sinners" often seems to refer to those non-Christians that are going to pollute us with all their bad behaviors, that "sin" is only thought of as something you do and not as something we are all in bondage to and needing freedom from, etc. etc. etc.
But there are also lots of things I do like -- a thriving homeless ministry, friends I have known for many years, the support the church gave me through seminary, my own history with the congregation, the great range of diversity (racially, ethnically, economically, socially, etc.) of the congregation, the enthusiastic and vibrant worship singing by the leaders and the congregation, a Sunday school class taught by someone who I look up to as a theological mentor, and an overall feel of laid-backness.
But did you ever notice how you can make a list of all these things about a church, and at the end of the day, it's not necessarily about these things, but about some kind of feeling or impression the Holy Spirit is able to give you through the church? This morning reminded me of that.
As I was sitting in worship, there were so many different people around me, and all of us, in our different ways, were coming together and coming before God to worship. There was a homeless man sitting in front of me with some very strong body odor - but it was also a lovely scent that communicated that we don't have to be clean to come to Jesus. There was a guy behind me who couldn't hold a tune to save his life, but he belted out those praise songs at the top of his lungs. What a sweet sound that was - a sound that communicated passion and freedom to be himself in the community. Then there was the woman in front of me covered in tattoos, who without realizing it greeted me twice during the "give your neighbor a high-five" time, and the man with his young son beside me who was wiggling throughout the whole service.
It was beautiful, and I was reminded why it is that my soul so loves and needs to be a part of this community.
posted by bethany at 8:08 PM
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