Doing church
I have a confession to make. I'm sick of church. Sarah and I's responsibilities at church have increased dramatically in the last couple of months. I'm the lay leader. Sarah is the treasurer, though because of my financial experience, I'm getting pretty involved in the church finances also. I'm so involved in the business of doing church that I don't feel like I have time to actually appreciate and engage in church. The business of keeping the lights on, water running, trash emptied is consuming a significant portion of my energy and enthusiasm.
So I can understand the appeal of house churches and those that want to worship outside of the "institutional" context. It would be great to not have to worry about the bills and to focus on learning, teaching, praise, and prayer. But at least for our congregation, I think what is missing from that picture is mission. In many ways, our "place" is at the center of our mission in our community. We provide space to a preschool. We host several AA/NA meetings every week. We provide worship space to two other congregations. We host a food pantry that feeds several families every week. We provide sanctuary to homeless familes several times a year through a cooperative ministry with other area churches.
Place is important. I just wish we didn't have to pay the bills!
Update: Read Sarah's post on this topic. I'm having trouble getting along with our new pastor too. I was going to bring it up later, but Sarah nailed it.
posted by Brian @ 8:43 AM
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