A picture of unity

Sunday was a beautiful day. It was also a confusing day. One of those days where the worship service does not go as planned, but still created a beautiful image of Christ. We had an area wide worship of the urban congregations on Sunday. The auditorium was packed. It was an interesting mix. Inner city poor, missionaries who are working on Masters of Divinity, and people who do not speak English. We have never really had a bilingual service. It was difficult to communicate. It was uncomfortable at times, but it was a beautiful picture.

The theme of the day was unity. We were a group of people seeking unity. We were people that most would say would have nothing in common. It is true. We did not have much in common. We did not all look alike. We were not all from the same part of town. We were all different ages. We did not all speak the same language. But we do all serve the same Lord. That brought us together. We were together in the name of Jesus singing songs together. The songs were in English and Spanish and we each would sing in our own language at the same time. We were, if only for two hours, a united people. Memphis is not known for unity. It is a very segregated city. We made an effort to be a family. As our Spanish speaking brother would say "Somos familia." We are family.

Communion took on a new meaning. It was not a smooth well played out communion. We decided we would all take the communion together as a symbolic sign of unity. It took a while to pass out the trays and there was awkward silence in which we decided to sing a song that probably wasn't the idea choice for communion, but it was a song we all knew. As I looked across the audience while giving the communion meditation, I saw black, white, and Hispanic all sitting together ready to take communion with each other. It was a small picture of unity.

How beautiful it is to know that there are Christians all around this world. Brothers and sisters who do not look like me, think like me, dress like me, or share the same hobbies as I do. They do not speak the same language, but they do serve the same God! I pray for them and lift them before our Father. And I pray for unity. Unity: such a small word, but what a difficult word it is. For unity is not always popular. But when Christians unite, it is a wonderful picture.

The Church Working Together

I spent a week at my parent's house in Oklahoma last week. It was a great visit. I went to help them clean their house so they can start rebuilding from the fire back in July. The fire happened the last Friday in July and it damaged most of the front half of the house. It has been unlivable for all these weeks.
It was good to be there working with my mom, dad, sister, brother, sister-in-law, aunt, uncle, cousin, and their church family. I arrived on Thursday and enjoyed the visit on Friday a couple of us carried out the old furniture. Saturday, the church group came and helped clean out all the old carpet, tear down the ceiling, and clean up debris. It was a great time of fellowship and service. It was the body of Christ coming together to serve one of its members. I continue to learn more about what it means to be a part of Christ's church. The congregation they are a part of is a small congregation, but nearly every member was present and working.
The church working together for a common goal accomplished much. In no time, the house was cleaned out and ready for the reconstruction. I began to think of how much could be accomplished if the church would learn to work together in unity. How many more people would know our Lord if we would unite towards a common goal? How would we be different if we loved each other with a genuine love of Christ?
It seems that churches have a history of division more than unity. Sadly, many Christians would rather debate one another than work together to reach those who do not follow Christ. We would rather argue over patterns and names rather than how to reach our neighbor.
The lesson I learned was a simple one - when the church works together things get accomplished. How do I translate that into a practical missiology?

What is church?

I suppose you get various answers from different people based upon their knowledge and understanding of ecclesiology. For some, the church is simply a building - they say things like "That church has unusual architecture." They are not able to separate the building from what the church is. Others view church as the assembly or public gathering. They view church as people coming together for an order of worship that includes the leading of a public prayer, singing songs, partaking of communion, public reading of scripture, and a sermon. While I agree that part of what it is to be a church involves coming together for an organized assembly involving prayer, communion, teaching, (where do the announcements come in?), and Scripture reading - I feel there is so much more to being the body of Christ.
Yesterday, Raleigh Community Church experienced what it is like to be a church. We had our corporate assembly where a praise team led the congregation in singing, public prayers were spoken, Scripture was read, a sermon was preached, and communion was served. There were even a couple of baptisms! Praise God! But what followed was church. We left the building and most everyone who attended the assembly gathered at the house of one of the members. We had a meal together. It was a great time of fellowship. We then gathered in the living room for spontaneous worship. It was amazing. It was a time of sharing our hearts through song, prayer, and testimony. If someone needed prayer, they would take the chair in the middle and we would all gather around and place our hands on them and pray and cry and rejoice with them. Tears of pain were running down the faces of the church. Shouts of victory were proclaimed. Peace was received. I arrived for worship service at 11:00 AM, by the time I got home it was nearly 6:00 PM. We were Christ's church functioning as Christ's church. We were white, black; young, old; highly educated, and not so highly educated united in the name of Jesus. We were the church - the body of Christ. I learned an important lesson about church that went far deeper than a sermon ever could. I learned about community in a way that reading a book could never provide. I am a part of Christ's church.
The church is not an hour on Sunday, it is Christ's community of people living in unity. A church is not what happens in a building with a sign out front, the church is also showing each other love and support in a living room. The church is not just what happens within the walls of a building, it is God's people being the hands and feet of Jesus in the world around us.
Have you had an experience that taught you about what church is supposed to be?