In the 9 am service Sunday morning @OvercomingFaith, I shared on why the church as a community is so important before my 9 am message.

Reading Bonhoeffer’s writings on the church has influenced my thinking on this.  Part of the church being church is the community of believers and the church is literally the Body of Christ.  This is why coming to church is so important, why being involved in a church is so important, and why getting to know people in a church is so important.  We’re family and we can encourage, love, and support each other as family.

I am often very careful about sharing my personal thoughts.  But I did feel led to share my personal thoughts on this subject.

The nice thing about @OvercomingFaith is that while it’s a large church with a really nice campus, the church is still a size where we can know everyone on a personal level.  When people are in the hospital or need to be married or buried, they can take comfort in the fact that pastor, my mother, myself, or Aaron will perform those duties.  However, recently, when a lady told me she was leaving the church because of an offense and leaving for a much larger church (where, truth be told, she’ll just be a number), I thought, “Well, who will visit you when you are in need, maybe in the hospital, who will marry your children someday, and when the time comes, who will bury you?”  I thought that but of course I didn’t say it. 

Now, don’t get me wrong, our goal is to change the community we’re in, to continually grow, and reach new people.  And I’m all for the churches that are super big.  But I think sometimes when people pick a celebrity pastor that they don’t think through the fact that when they’re in the hospital or when it comes time for them to be buried, that some person they’ve never heard of and don’t even know will be doing the service.

A few years ago, a lady who has been in the church many years told me, “Austin, I know someday you will bury me.”  At first, I was shocked and taken back, but later, I realized her comment was an incredible compliment.  She and her husband are a part of the core of the church and have been in the church many years, but they are also about 10-15 years younger than my father.  So I know, she figures she will outlive my father, and so she rightfully expects me to bury her some day.  What a compliment! 

Her statement, though, reflects her knowledge that the church is a family, a family who knows each other, and a family who is there for each other in the good times and the bad, in the times of rejoicing and mourning.  And from her statement it’s obvious she takes comfort in the fact that she knows what the spiritual legacy of her church is and who will minister to her children and grandchildren that day.

What’s really different about that lady though is she thinks about the future and her children and grandchildren.  Sadly, many people don’t think that way.  They don’t think about the future and their biggest concern is with what they are doing and not their children or grandchildren or the spiritual discipleship of the children and grandchildren.

Only a baby/infant in Christ would throw a tantrum because he/she can’t do a certain thing in particular in a church (regardless of whether or not they are even talented and gifted to do that in the first place), and then uproot his/her entire family with no thought to the future.

Just my thoughts…