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August 31, 2010
The Ministry of the Church
We had an overwhelming number of visitors in church this past Sunday. There were a number of folks looking for a church home. Each of them felt the welcome of our church family in our worship and in the way that we gather to sip lemonade together on the porch after worship.
I'm trying to hold onto that this morning. I'm trying to remember that loving welcome that our church does so well when I'm met with an angry phone call. This call didn't come from a church member. This person wasn't in worship with us. Instead, she was assisted by the Children's Closet on Saturday. She was here to be served by the members of our congregation that offer this ministry of gently used clothing and toys -- and she wasn't happy with the service she got.
“My task is to offer the reminder that we offer these ministries because of our faith in Jesus Christ”
As the pastor, she wanted me to do something about the volunteers. She believed that to be my job. It's my responsibility to keep the volunteers in line. But, that's not my job. My job is to encourage the ministry that this congregation is trying to do -- and this church does a lot to support the community. We offer food, clothing and will sometimes even pay a month's rent when someone is stuck. We offer the welcome because we see Jesus in each of these people. We see the image of God present in all people. I've heard it more than once when someone references Matthew 25 to talk about the mission we do. And so, we try to meet their needs of food, clothing and shelter.
That doesn't mean that it's a perfect system. There are lots of complications in trying to help those that need this help. There's always someone that needs more. There's always someone that asks of more than the others. There's always someone that taxes our ability to be generous -- and the church responds by creating rules. We create limits to what is just in this particular area of ministry. It's happened in each ministry of our church. In the Food Pantry, we limit each client's use to once a month. In the Children's Closet, there are rules about what can be available so that the volunteers can manage the incoming donations. In Community Crisis Ministries, there are still other rules that the committee has agreed upon. It's true for all of the ministries in our church because each of this generosity is extended by a committee where each person on that committee has a different definition of what is fair and just.
It's not my job to correct these individuals about what is fair. Instead, my task is to offer the reminder that we offer these ministries because of our faith in Jesus Christ. We're not just doing good deeds. We're trying -- in our own small way -- to create the Kingdom of God here on earth. This is the good news that Jesus preached and this is the good news that we are trying to live out. It's this good news that Jesus proclaimed at the beginning of his ministry in the Gospel of Luke. Jesus unrolled the scroll in the temple and read from Isaiah:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).
This is indeed what we're trying to do. I'm not sure that the limits and rules we create in the church reflect that vision but I do trust the volunteers that are trying to live into their faith. I know that each of these people in the life of this church are trying to live out their faith. I know that these rules are created to keep our volunteers and those they serve safe. I know that's a fine line. I know how sometimes it doesn't feel just or even fair. I know that sometimes it doesn't even feel like it reflects the spirit of God that is upon all of us. But, I also know that I can't adequately demonstrate that to someone who's yelling at me on the other end of the phone. I can only admit that the church is flawed as all institutions are flawed -- but we're trying. We're really trying to live in this Spirit of God and we see that Spirit in you. We see it in all of you.
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You can read more from Rev. Peters on her blog: (Im)Possible Things with God
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