Acts 16:15 after she (Lydia) was baptized, along with everyone in her household, she said in a surge of hospitality, “If you’re confident that I’m in this with you and believe in the Master truly, come home with me and be my guests.” We hesitated, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. (The Message Bible)
I’ve often heard people say about their children, and I may have also said it about my children, I don’t care where they go to church as long as they go somewhere. I guess that is true, but it kind of misses the point, doesn’t it? I’m a pastor. I love my church. I love church in general. Here though, there was no church and Lydia’s home became the church building. In my community I’ve seen several churches close or change hands. We are talking millions of dollars’ worth of real estate. I’ve seen heartbreak and anger surrounding some of these transitions. But what if we had no church buildings? They didn’t in the beginning of the church era. What if that is our future? There was a song that was popular some years back that said: “If tomorrow all the things were gone, I’d worked for all my life. And I had to start again, with just my children and my wife. I’d thank my lucky stars, to be livin here today. ‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom, and they can’t take that away.” If the way we live out our faith needs to be realigned, readjusted, reinvented, rewhatevered, in our lifetime starting from the ground up, starting from our homes out, will we be willing to do it? They’ve done it in other places. Are we in it to recreate a past we are comfortable with or to follow a risen Christ into a possibly uncomfortable future? Maybe I should be less concerned with where my children go to church and more concerned with the church they create with their lives. Are you going to church or creating church? What kind of church will you create this week?
Logan Memorial Presbyterian Church 