In the hallways of our office I had a conversation today that reminded me of a post I wrote awhile back, but never published. Figured with 2010 on the horizon it’s not bad timing to let it fly and share some thoughts on the church today. But first, the beach…

I grew up with 55 degree east coast mornings. Riding my bike over the Rudee Inlet and heading to 1st Street to catch the morning surf on an easy summer day. There is nothing like it here in Va Beach. The thing I enjoyed most wasn’t always the surf, friendships, or morning ride. It was the walk along the shoreline. In between sets or taking a break with no surf, I’d spend time walking along the foam covered sands of the ocean front shore to see the things left behind by the ocean’s currents. Old cans, shells, bottles, little fish, scattered debris, birds running up to the water only to scurry fearfully as the tide rolled back in quickly to the shore.

It was a motley crew of objects.
But one thing was always constant- the beach.
Everything else- changed constantly.

The items on the shore would get swept back out to sea.
Treasures from a time gone by would slowly get buried beneath the wet sand.
Shells that some would count as beautiful would be destroyed beneath the crashing of the waves.
Even the sand was shifting ever so constantly with every touch of salty liquid that moved across it’s surface.

The beach still remains beautiful and it’s an amazing thing to be a part of, but the things that interact with it never remain the same. As it is with God’s Church.

As we keep our eye on the church today, we watch as:
People come. People go.
Lives are changed. People are offended.
Marriages are restored. Relationships crumble.
People love being a part of the community. Things change and they move on.
The church sees roaring numbers. People walk away in droves.
Addiction is beat with God’s help. Turn back to another hit.
God please help my weary spirit. Why do you let this happen, I cannot stand you!?

The movement of people through God’s church is something you have no control over. All you can do is submit to Him and His guidance to love everyone who you interact with. One of the biggest lessons learned in 13 years of ministry is, “Other than God’s mission/goal/love for the church, nothing else stays the same.” It’s okay if people come in and decide to go to another church instead. If a guy whose been addicted to drugs for years finally walks through the door and loves the church, but decides to go to a recovery program elsewhere, thanks alright too. When a couple who outgrew or became disconnected with their church come out and decide they feel connected at your church, don’t rush them away because you’re a new church that’s “all about the new person.” Because those people need a place for community too. And there will even be some people who come, check out the church you are a part of, hate it, and never go to church again. God clearly talks about the message of Jesus offending people too. That’s a hard part of the ebb and flow for many people who love Jesus. You might even be like me and see some of it happening in the home/family you grew up with. It’s hard to come to terms with.

As Christians, we need to understand, that just like the ebb & flow of the ocean’s shoreline we’ve come to love so much here at the beach- the face & community we look at as “the church” is always changing. People, ministries, ideas, perspectives, lives, it’s all changing. But, the good news is that it’s still beautiful in God’s eyes. God is still moving in places we cannot see. People will come and be saved and continue their journey at the church you attend, while others will decide it’s time to transition to something else.

If we look at the Church as more of a collective group of believers & servants and less from the perspective of the name that graces the cover of our programs and bulletins… ministry and loving God becomes beautiful in it’s simplicity. It’s not about the things we like or don’t like about a church or competing with area churches for numbers, status, and popularity- it’s about changing lives. It’s about being okay with ebb & flow of God’s church changing as people’s journey continues.

As we enter into 2010, I’ll wrap up with a question and maybe we can talk this through a bit more…

“How can the local church make sure to keeps it’s focus, energy, and time on being available to God so it can help the global church & kingdom of God growing?”

I have some ideas, but I’d love to hear yours…