Pastor's Column: We are the church
By REV. R. LANEY KUHN
Hillsboro Methodist Church
A young man slept peacefully in bed on a Sunday morning. Suddenly he felt his wife's hands tugging on his arm.
"Come on, honey," she commanded, "you've got to get up. It's time for church."
"I don't want to go to church," he responded. " I don't like it there."
"But, you've got to go," his wife retorted.
"No!" he insisted, "Those people don't like me. I always feel like I'm doing something wrong."
"You've got to go!"
"Why?!" he demanded, "You just name one good reason why I should have to."
"Because," she stated, "you're the pastor."
Although we chuckle, many of us know too well the painful reality of a critical spirit. With our words we often tear down one another and divide the body of Christ. A minister mocks another evangelist's style of preaching. A church member complains that the minister doesn't visit enough. Another bemoans the fact that he or she visits too often.
Yet every week we read together from the same Scriptures which contain the words, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up. Build up one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through love." Eph. 4:29.
Have you looked recently and seen the hurting people around you? People wounded by the words of others surround us.
Do you ever wonder why we are so critical of one another? Are our own egos so fragile that we must tear down others in order to feel better about ourselves? Are we so desperate for everyone to do it our way — the "right" way — that we need to criticize others for doing it differently?
"Keep the unity of the Spirit through love," the Scriptures say. What does it mean? It means celebrate unity in the midst of diversity. A pastoral counselor may suggest it means to differentiate — to maintain one's capacity to be different while remaining connected and to offer others the space to do the same. It means building up and encouraging one another day after day after day.
We are the Church. We are a Church seeking revitalization. "Every congregation is a vivid example of the task of creating Christian community. Each congregation must be built up in love by the Spirit to make best use of the gifts of the Spirit there." But we can't do it by ourselves.
Gracious God,
Teach us to be your church today.
Today give us eyes that see the strengths of others.
Today give us a spirit that celebrates our diversity.
Today give us a voice that boldly encourages.
Today empower us to be the body of Christ united in the Spirit of love.
All praise and all glory to you, our healer, our deliverer!
Amen.
