That’s the question I find myself (and many other people) struggling with. My husband resigned as a worship leader/pastor from a local body about a year and a half ago. One Sunday, shortly after that, people started showing up at our house on Sunday mornings for worship. We didn’t invite them; they just came. Before long, we had about 50 people meeting in our house for worship, teaching, fellowship and eating, every Sunday morning. I thought, “Wow, this is it! Church!” I was so very excited. Some months passed and the fellowship was sweet.
However, just recently, the whole thing blew up. It’s a long story, but it seems that there were people in our fellowship that did not like what they saw in our home. It wasn’t pornography, drugs, or extra-marital affairs. It was decisions we made with our children (18, 16 and 14 years old). We tend to be very open with our children. We also tend to give them more freedom then perhaps a typical conservative evangelical would. (I hate even typing that, because I don’t want to sound like I’m stereotyping). We talk and talk, pray, Pray, PRAY, and then, at the end of the day, we trust our kids unless they have given us reason not to.
To sum it up, we were told that my husband wasn’t “leadership” material by 2 or 3 of the families that were coming. Not that we ever asked to be leaders….cripes!…we didn’t even invite these people to our home. So, to sum it up, we have stopped meeting. These people that said these things have quit calling, quit coming, quit being in fellowship with us, in most every way.
Church, what is it and how do we do it? I thought we had it, but now I’m not sure we did. If we had, the whole thing would not have blown up so easily. Perhaps if we (and I include myself here), were too busy reaching out to feed the hungry, care for widows and bring justice to the oppressed, we wouldn’t have as much time to find fault with each other.
I’m reminded of an old song by Susan Ashton.
Beyond Justice To Mercy
I know we don’t see eye to eye
We let angry hearts flare, and the bitter words fly
The common ground we used to share
Is harder to find but I believe that it’s still there
I don’t know if now is the time
To surrender the silence between your heart and mine,
But the love that I’ve chosen, cries out to be spoken
Leaving the heartache behind
We must reach out beyond justice to mercy
Going more than halfway to forgive
And tho’ the distance seems so far
The love that used to hold our hearts
Longs to take us
Beyond Justice to Mercy
It doesn’t matter who’s to blame
Oh, the love that I have for you is still the same
A tender voice is calling me
To a place of compassion, where hearts are pure and free
Where the hunger for vengeance, gives way to repentance
Where love can teach us to see…
We can reach out beyond justice to mercy…
Technorati Tags: mercy, healing, church
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