Service

I love Derek Webb's song "The Church" I know in recent months Derek Webb has made some controversial statements, but in his song from his 2003 record, he makes some statements that I think are simple, and important, and profound.

"i have come with one purpose
to capture for myself a bride
by my life she is lovely
by my death she’s justified

i have always been her husband
though many lovers she has known
so with water i will wash her
and by my word alone

so when you hear the sound of the water
you will know you’re not alone

‘cause i haven’t come for only you
but for my people to pursue
you cannot care for me with no regard for her
if you love me you will love the church

i have long pursued her
as a harlot and a whore
but she will feast upon me
she will drink and thirst no more

so when you taste my flesh and my blood
you will know you’re not alone

there is none that can replace her
though there are many who will try
and though some may be her bridesmaids
they can never be my bride"

Sometimes I wonder, what does it really look like to love the church?
I mean, obviously there are the generic serving opportunities in most churches in America

You can teach Sunday school to 1st graders.
You can take care of little ones in the nursery.

You can sing on the worship team or serve communion.

There are opportunities to organize small groups, or greet people at the door.

Lots of churches need people to hang out with high schoolers and take them on retreats.

These are all important and valuable. These are all things that need to be done.

But what if you don't have the gift of mentoring high schoolers or you can't sing? What if you are terrible with children? What then? How do you love the church then?

It seems like in a lot of churches today there are a handful of ministry opportunities, and members, if they want to actively serve their church, have to fit themselves into one of those roles. It doesn't really matter that much if their abilities, or gifts as we say in Christianese, don't fit the roles available.

The reality is that in most churches I have been in, there are a lot of things that need to get done. But for the most part, the majority of those tasks get accomplished by paid staff, whether it's cleaning the church, or visiting the elderly and shut-ins, or organizing events.

Who knows, maybe at one time the church functioned in a manner that allowed members to love the church by visiting shut ins, or cleaning the building. Maybe the reason these tasks are generally undertaken by paid staff is that we as a body of believers over time have failed to come through and love the church by actually following through when we committed to something that wasn't fun, or took a lot of time, or cost us something.

While I was on vacation earlier this month, I had the opportunity to watch someone loving the church, in ways that don't fit the typical American church ministry opportunities.

First she cleaned the church, with a few helpers, myself included on Friday night.

Then on Sunday, as I followed her in my vehicle, she did this.

She does this pretty much every Sunday morning.

She leaves for church earlier than she would otherwise have to. She has to drive a little bit out of the way. It might cost her a little gas. But every Sunday, unless she is on vacation, she does this.

These people can't drive, they would not be able to go to church if she didn't pick them up.

How many people out there in America are like this? If someone would just pick them up on the way, they would never miss a Sunday?