Pastor's Blog: Why Church Matters
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In recent days we’ve seen quite the conversation around those aspects of society we deem “essential.” Anything put in the non-essential category has been shut down and boarded up, while those businesses, agencies, and institutions perceived as necessary have been allowed to continue. At first, churches were placed in the former category, which hurts those of us who see church as a vital part of our lives. But as time passed, the powers that be came to see the significance of faith communities being allowed to keep their doors open in some way, shape, form, or fashion so that even if they weren’t operating to their full capacity, as they did “pre-pandemic,” they still were able to offer folk experiences that could sustain them, which is precisely what our church has attempted to do.
The whole experience has reminded me of an imaginative exercise I once liked to pose to congregations. At the time, the exercise was entirely fiction; at no point did I ever think that it would be reality. The exercise went as follows: “Imagine a congregational virus has wormed its way into (Mountain Brook) and suddenly shut down all the local congregations? Would anything be different? Would anything be missing?”
You see the point. It’s one thing to ponder such a possibility. It’s quite another thing to live it.
But here we are, five months into this season of COVID, and many churches have not been able to resume much of anything. However, that’s not been the case with MBBC. We were in fact among the last churches to shut down and the first to reopen. We did so not out of smugness or arrogance, but out of our conviction that what we’re about matters to God, it matters to the community, and it matters to us.
Beginning this Sunday, I’ll launch a short sermon series on “Why Church Matters.” The series will address four aspects of congregational life that the Bible deems necessary. Those aspects are: Caring, Connection, Community, and Conversion. Each will remind us of why our investment in MBBC is worth the risk, however we might choose to accept it. For some it will mean being present for our gathered worship. For some it will mean making time in a busy schedule to watch online and pray for our church during this unusual season. For all of us I trust it will mean that we risk giving of our financial resources to keep ministry moving forward.
Years ago, I remember a conversation with a Baptist pastor whose sister was a member of the church I was serving. His church, located in a mid-town community, had done its best to stay alive, finally surrendering to community demographics and making the painful decision to close its doors. A neighbor got word that the church was giving away its property and feared that a local university would get it so that they could expand their parking. He asked the pastor to sign a petition on the zoning of the property, which the pastor was understandably reluctant to do. The neighbor’s request only added to the pastor’s pain of closing the church, but what hurt worse was when the pastor invited him to the church’s final service and the neighbor declined, saying, “I didn’t go to Burger King when it closed, so why should I go to your church’s last service?”
I have nothing against Burger King, but the thought of having any church compared to a fast food restaurant hurts me as well. I hope it also hurts you. In fact, I hope it hurts you enough to resolve to join me in doing all we can to strengthen our church in this most unusual season so that when we are in a better day, our congregation will be positioned to do an even better job of “Loving God and Living with Grace and Generosity.” Consider that commitment one in which we endeavor to have church “God’s way.” Then we can be certain that our best days still lie ahead and MBBC will matter even more then that it does now.
“Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers” (Acts 9:31).