The Church where I worship, serve and work is celebrating its 100th anniversary. The first time I was in the physical presence of someone on their 100th birthday? As a pastor, I went to visit Miss Sally. After we sat down in her den, she reached behind her chair, grabbed a tall bottle and took a swig of whiskey. She looked me squarely in the eye and said “The secret to making it to 100? This… and also keeping the commandments!”
Church, like any family or any relationship that is about love, has its commandments, its ways and habits you just won’t violate. And then Church thrives, not on its own sober grit and determination, but by the Spirit (spirits?) of God that blows where it will, surprising us, inspiring and sustaining us, using us through and despite ourselves. As Frederick Buechner humorously wrote about why wine is better than grape juice in communion… “It makes the timid brave and the reserved amorous. It loosens the tongue and breaks the ice. It kills germs. As symbols go, it’s a rather splendid one.” So I keep pondering Miss Sally’s swig of whiskey – and the church.
Church is a building, but also the people. An institution but also a mystical communion. A herald of good news to the world but also a humble, quiet servant. The Church is God’s visible presence on our planet. The Church must embarrass God at times, and at others make God proud. With the chaotic mess the world finds itself in, dare we suggest that the Church, meager as we may feel, is the world’s last best hope for healing and good?
Churches come in a dizzying variety of sizes, shapes and styles, which tells you something about what delights the heart of God. Massive cathedrals and little wooden A-frames in the country. Tall steeples and a storefront setup. Neo-Gothic (like mine) and modern worship centers. A den in someone’s home and a table at the back of a bar. To God be the glory.
We have the architect’s century-old blueprints for our church. What is God’s blueprint for churches? I often say that churches do 4 things, not 3, and not 5 – and all 4! (1) We worship God. (2) We study and learn. (3) We love one another. And (4) we serve the world. We’ll unpack these over time. Our mission? At my last church, we appointed a committee to devise a fresh mission statement. Thirty seconds into the meeting, a woman said “This is too simple. Our mission is to do the stuff Jesus said.” And the meeting was adjourned.
Mind you, we fumble and flail awkwardly and take wrong turns and get all knotted up in misguided lunges into what we dig individually instead of what God wants. We always try to reform ourselves and do better, but we don’t mind failure so much. At least we know the kingdom hasn’t completely dawned, and we’ve got much to do, and we need more of God and less of self to get it done.
So we begin by celebrating the simple existence of Church, and all the churches. How good of God to give us good company and even safe, sheltered places as we together discover God’s presence in and through us as God’s Church.