The Church is not a building

I was always told that a church isn’t just the building; it’s the people in attendance. For seventeen years, I have attended the same church – Trinity UMC. I was baptized and confirmed there, and yet I never really knew what went on behind the scenes. I knew about the ministers and the secretary, but that was about it, and I was ignorant about everything else going on. For my senior year at Columbus School for Girls (CSG), I was assigned a senior project (Senior May Program) to go out and intern for the month of May. I barely knew what I was having for breakfast the next morning, let alone the entire month of May! My mom suggested contacting Rev. Katy Wheat, who is the Associate Minister for Mission and Small Groups, to see if she would allow me to work with her for the duration of May. When Rev. Wheat accepted, I had no idea what was in store for me. All I could do was eagerly wait.

A very memorable experience is when I accompanied the pastoral staff to two home blessings at the Forum, which is a retirement community in Columbus. One of the women knows my mother and it was such a meaningful experience that I won’t ever forget. I saw these women gain instant comfort once their home was blessed; it was unbelievable!  It was not just comfort - it was the joy I could see in their eyes that made it such a happy and unforgettable experience.

Deciding to work at Trinity UMC was one of the most eye-opening experiences that I have ever had. I had the opportunity to work with so many different people and groups in and out of the church that I would have never gotten to otherwise. One of the things that touched my heart the most was being at New Life United Methodist Church on a Sunday morning. I had the chance to lead a Sunday school class that had four “tween” girls in attendance. Before I went to New Life Church, I had never had much experience in this kind of situation. I went to Upper Arlington schools through 8^th grade.  Most of the kids who go there have parents in an very comfortable financial situation. Then, for high school, I transferred to CSG. Almost all of the girls there have fairly wealthy parents. Between Upper Arlington and CSG, money wasn’t an issue for most people and I never knew of anyone who didn’t have enough money to buy food. Growing up, I never knew anyone who was in a situation any different from mine, and that’s just how it was.

When I walked into this Sunday school class, I had no idea what to expect. They didn’t seem any different from 13-year-old me, but I started noticing differences when they were telling me their grades. I was going into eighth grade when I turned 13, and they were going into sixth. Then they started talking about a girl who wasn’t there. When I asked where she was, and one of the girls said “In a homeless shelter.” I was not expecting this at all! I have never known anyone who had to go to a homeless shelter; the only experience I ever had was when I was volunteering. Later I found out that having to live in a homeless shelter was always a worry in the back of those girls’ minds. This experience helped me realize: it’s not only foreign countries that need our help - our neighbor’s right here in Central Ohio need assistance, too.

            All these opportunities strengthened my faith in so many ways. I saw people who had been Christians for 80 years, and I saw girls in situations where they were in fear of losing their houses, but still able to keep their faith in God. I thought that my faith would be strengthened by the amount of time I spent in worship, but I was completely wrong. All the new people that I met made up the Church, whether they were spending their free time volunteering or going about with their daily business. I never thought these people would change my life and teach me to be so thankful for everything I have. My faith is so much stronger especially because of what I learned from these 13-year-old girls. I learned that my faith may be shaken, but never broken. I feel God put me with Rev. Wheat to experience new situations outside of my comfort zone and my faith is so much stronger because of it.

Ellie Thompson is currently a senior at Columbus School for Girls and will be graduating on June 6, 2013. In the fall, she plans to attend Xavier University where she will double-major in marketing and finance. While at Trinity, Ellie’s main focus has been on communication and mission work. 

The Global Church

"Now You are the Body of Christ, and individually members of it."  1 Corinthians 12:27

I got into an interesting discussion with another pastor the other day if the United Methodist church is really an international church. His arguments were compelling to be honest.  He noted that we all have different issues. Concerns for us here in the US are not the major issues facing the church in Africa for instance. We have cultural differences. We have different economic issues.

He also noted what he saw as an imbalance in the church. Because the church is exploding in the third world, they will have an increasing influence and voice in the denomination. Yet the US, and Europe to a lesser degree, will bear most of the burden economically.  "Why should we be forced to pay and they not carry more of the burden?"

All fair questions to be sure.  Fair, but they also illustrate a wrong understanding of what the church is.  If we were talking about a business that had stores all over the world his arguments would make a lot of sense. But we are not. We are talking about the church. And the church is unlike anything else we have ever seen.

We do not get to dictate the parameters of what the church is. Only the one who created it, the foundation itself, can define what the church is.  The church is global because Jesus has declared it to be so.  In fact as we look at Scripture I don't think Jesus looks at the church as the Asian church, the European church, the rural church or the upper class suburban church. Jesus simply sees the church. Each group working together with the blessings they have to further the Kingdom of God.

Early in 1 Corinthians, Paul talks about the love feast, the regular celebration of the church. The people of God would join together each bringing what they had, as they had been blessed by God, and they would share it together. They would celebrate. There was no place for arguing over who brought what, or to whom more was due.  In fact Paul goes to great lengths to tell the people they should no do this.

I see now Paul is talking about more than how we should behave at potlucks. The meal serves as an example of what the church is. This incredible, fallible, stumbling blessed instrument is somehow being used by God to tell the world about Jesus, from the home church in China, to the mega church in Texas, from Trinity to Scum of The Earth Church (It's actual name) in Denver.

We saw this last week as our annual conference joined together to bless the plane we helped purchase for Wings of the Morning. As we prayed, it struck me we prayed with a great crowd of witnesses, those missionaries who first went to the Congo, to the Christians there who prayed for this miracle, to the saints who took a young man in and helped him get his education and pilots license, from the churches that made great monetary contributions, to the child who emptied her piggy bank. Each one of us is a part of this great ministry.

Yesterday we brought 19 young people into membership of the church.  Not the four walls that bear our name, but the church I described above. For this we should be thankful. The church indeed is a wonder. And at times, when we work together, a miracle.

In Christ,
Dr. Brian Jones <><

No Small Thing In The Kingdom

"Indeed, the body does not consist of one member, but many" (1 Corinthians 12:14)

Our Director of Adult Adult Ministries shared with me the other day a column from "hometouch" he is sending out to our older adult members at Trinity. I'll share it with you as soon as I make sure we have permission and aren't in any copyright violations.

But it gave praise to the small things people do in the church. You know what I mean. The "little things." The small gestures such as sending a card to someone who is in the hospital. Or dropping some flowers off to a shut in. Or coming  to church the night they make cards that the church sends out. The mundane little tasks or doing something behind the scenes.

As I thought about this Scripture, it occurred to me that God looks at what we do in a very different way than we do.  God sees the church as one body.  It has many parts of course, but one body.  The parts are not the body. We tend to forget that sometimes. But the head, as crucial as it is, is not the body. The heart is not the body. The body is the body.

Therefore there are no small, mundane parts. They are all needed, indeed are crucial to the well being of the body. Consider your own body for a moment. How many "behind the scenes" body parts do you have? How would you like to do without them? After all you can't "see" your liver or spleen.  But I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume you want to keep them. In fact need them.

Well, how about some of the mundane parts. Your little toe perhaps. Can you get along without it? Certainly. Would you rather? Probably not. Everything is needed in order to keep the body functioning at it peak condition. That's a part of what Paul is talking about in the Scripture. How do we keep the church operating at peak condition? By making sure all the parts of the body are doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing.

When we are truly one body, it even changes how we view importance of tasks or recognition.  God doesn't see certain tasks within the body as more important because they are all relying on one another. As a Pastor, I am keenly aware of this every week. I may have a Holy Spirit inspired sermon. But if people aren't made to feel welcome and loved as they come into the church, they won't hear it.  If the music doesn't help people give God praise and warm their hearts, they won't hear the message.  If the Trustees haven't worked hard to make sure the building looks good, if the worship area isn't ready, people won't hear the message. If the sound goes out or it's not right, people won't hear the message. When someone is touched by a sermon it is the result not just of the pastor, but the entire body of Christ.

So, if one part of the body is praised, are we not all praised? Are we not all recognized? Is not the person who picks up their neighbor and brings them to church a part of God's grace in that person's life just as the worship leader is? Of course they are.
 
But for today, let me say to the entire body of Christ, thank you for answering God's call and being a part of the body. You have changed lives and will continue to change them for God's kingdom.  And that is no small thing.

In Christ,
Rev. Dr. Brian Jones <><