The Body of Christ
02/06/12 03:42
It is 335 miles from Rapid City to Aberdeen. That’s not bad for those of us who live in this part of the world. We don’t consider it to be a full day’s drive. Still it takes time to cover the distance – about 5½ hours. And there is no direct route. There are several options. Yesterday we went to Pierre and then headed north for highway 12. North of Pierre we drive right through the middle of a pretty good thunderstorm. We got a little lightning show and the rain fell so hard that we slowed down a little for a few miles. All in all, it was a beautiful drive. Those who follow my blog know that I’m not beyond driving. I do quite a bit of it. It is what we do in order to get together with others.
We are in Aberdeen for the Annual Meeting of the South Dakota Conference of the United Church of Christ. There are six of us from our congregation participating. And I suspect that the others all feel like I do. Already it has been worth the drive.
I’m not a big fan of meetings. That should come as a surprise to people who know what I do, because I go to a lot of meetings. Meetings are in the nature of my work. And I participate in additional volunteer activities that involve meetings. Still, I think that the real work of the church rarely occurs in meetings. We are at our best when we are engaged in hands-on service, working side-by-side and shoulder-to-shoulder to help others. We shine in worship when we offer the best of our words, music, motion and presence to God.
Maybe that is what made the trip worth it. We began our time together last evening with a wonderful meal and then went into the sanctuary to worship together. As a regular worship leader, I don’t have too many opportunities for worship when I can just sit in the pew and participate without having to think about how much time has passed, what comes next, and what I am going to have to say. Last night I could just worship as a member of the congregation. The service was carefully planned, well crafted and inclusive of the wide diversity of our gathering. There were prayers in the Dakota language, songs both old and new, piano, organ, guitar and vocal numbers. We even had a song accompanied by the rattling of deer antlers. And we heard a powerful and well-delivered sermon my David Greenhaw. David is the president of Eden Theological Seminary and a good friend. He is also a gifted preacher. He is one of the few people I know who shines at keynote, lecture, study-leadership and preaching. He knows the different forms of speaking and excels at them all.
David says, “I always want to remind my students of the ‘dangers of preaching.’ Because preaching can change people’s lives, it is important not to misuse this authority. Everyone who has been called to the ministry and given the power to preach must carefully consider what they are doing.”
He practices what he preaches.
But there is another reason why we have come so many miles to gather. Being the church simply isn’t something that we can do all by ourselves. This applies to individuals and it applies to congregations. Not only can I be a church all by myself as an individual, our congregation cannot be the church in isolation as if we were the only congregation. We belong to each other. And that belonging is a strong tie that compels us to get together and to share on a regular basis. Paul put it this way to the people at Corinth: “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” (I Cor. 12:27)
This calling to which we have responded is one that brings us together again and again. Of course there are great joys to gathering. After 17 years in the South Dakota Conference, most of the faces are familiar to me. There are a few that I don’t get to see regularly and so our annual meetings have a bit of the quality of a reunion for me. There are people that I want to see and I enjoy catching up with what is going on in their lives.
There is also a great deal of work that needs to be done. The meetings today will be challenging as we continue to figure out what God is calling us to do in a time of decreased membership and decreased revenues. We know in our heads that God will provide the resources necessary for us to be the church, but sometimes we come close to despair when we try to balance a budget. It is easy to see that we want to do more work together than our resources allow and it is difficult to think of any particular project or ministry going unfunded. Still we are finite. Our resources are not unlimited. We are able to imagine more than we can accomplish. So there is frustration.
And we are a gathering that includes a lot of preachers. That means that some will overstep their access to the microphone. Some will feel compelled to teach or preach or admonish others when silence may be the better part. Some will simply keep talking even after others are in agreement. We all are prone to be a bit careless with the gift of time that has been offered by others. In the midst of all of this, I am sure that there will be moments when my mind wanders. I don’t always stay completely focused on the business at hand. Sometimes the business of our gathering doesn’t seem as important to me as it does to someone else.
We are, after all, a gathering of humans: imperfect, perplexing, complex, frustrating, and wonderful. Our church, as we were reminded last night, is really wonderful. Our connections are really powerful. Our ministry is really meaningful. But, as Paul writes, “we carry this treasure in earthen vessels.” (2 Cor. 4:7) This wonderful church is trusted to our imperfect lives in this sometimes-troubled generation.
All in all, I’m still up for a road trip. 670 miles round trip is a short distance week for me. And all of the miles seem to me to be worth it when we worship together.
I’m not a big fan of meetings. That should come as a surprise to people who know what I do, because I go to a lot of meetings. Meetings are in the nature of my work. And I participate in additional volunteer activities that involve meetings. Still, I think that the real work of the church rarely occurs in meetings. We are at our best when we are engaged in hands-on service, working side-by-side and shoulder-to-shoulder to help others. We shine in worship when we offer the best of our words, music, motion and presence to God.
Maybe that is what made the trip worth it. We began our time together last evening with a wonderful meal and then went into the sanctuary to worship together. As a regular worship leader, I don’t have too many opportunities for worship when I can just sit in the pew and participate without having to think about how much time has passed, what comes next, and what I am going to have to say. Last night I could just worship as a member of the congregation. The service was carefully planned, well crafted and inclusive of the wide diversity of our gathering. There were prayers in the Dakota language, songs both old and new, piano, organ, guitar and vocal numbers. We even had a song accompanied by the rattling of deer antlers. And we heard a powerful and well-delivered sermon my David Greenhaw. David is the president of Eden Theological Seminary and a good friend. He is also a gifted preacher. He is one of the few people I know who shines at keynote, lecture, study-leadership and preaching. He knows the different forms of speaking and excels at them all.
He practices what he preaches.
But there is another reason why we have come so many miles to gather. Being the church simply isn’t something that we can do all by ourselves. This applies to individuals and it applies to congregations. Not only can I be a church all by myself as an individual, our congregation cannot be the church in isolation as if we were the only congregation. We belong to each other. And that belonging is a strong tie that compels us to get together and to share on a regular basis. Paul put it this way to the people at Corinth: “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” (I Cor. 12:27)
This calling to which we have responded is one that brings us together again and again. Of course there are great joys to gathering. After 17 years in the South Dakota Conference, most of the faces are familiar to me. There are a few that I don’t get to see regularly and so our annual meetings have a bit of the quality of a reunion for me. There are people that I want to see and I enjoy catching up with what is going on in their lives.
There is also a great deal of work that needs to be done. The meetings today will be challenging as we continue to figure out what God is calling us to do in a time of decreased membership and decreased revenues. We know in our heads that God will provide the resources necessary for us to be the church, but sometimes we come close to despair when we try to balance a budget. It is easy to see that we want to do more work together than our resources allow and it is difficult to think of any particular project or ministry going unfunded. Still we are finite. Our resources are not unlimited. We are able to imagine more than we can accomplish. So there is frustration.
We are, after all, a gathering of humans: imperfect, perplexing, complex, frustrating, and wonderful. Our church, as we were reminded last night, is really wonderful. Our connections are really powerful. Our ministry is really meaningful. But, as Paul writes, “we carry this treasure in earthen vessels.” (2 Cor. 4:7) This wonderful church is trusted to our imperfect lives in this sometimes-troubled generation.
All in all, I’m still up for a road trip. 670 miles round trip is a short distance week for me. And all of the miles seem to me to be worth it when we worship together.