Holy addresses

 

Hebrews 10:32-39

I've been thinking a lot about what church would be without church. That is to say, most of us can't imagine being a part of a church without a building to house us. It almost seems impossible to have a church without a church facility. And yet many Christians pull it off. Christians have long, long fulfilled the commission to make disciples without buildings. Many still do today. In my recent meandering, I've recognized I'm grateful every congregation I've served had an address. There were many meaningful and holy moments there. At the same time, there was always a struggle to extend our mission away from church. It's as if real ministry can only happen a that holy address. When I visited other congregations, I began to notice something. A lot of churches love their church buildings. Guess what many of us put on the cover of our weekly bulletins, monthly newsletters and letterhead. Buildings. We even put them on our website and t-shirts. Oh, and don't forget all the pictures we hang in our hallways. Not that a physical location can't be a blessing. It certainly can be and often is. But it can also be a hindrance. An escape, even. I used to think that constructing a new church building was the apex of ministry. No one ever told me that. It was just too hard to ignore how much we overvalued the effort. I want to imagine more ministry away from the church so the church can be the church. So we can experience more incarnational ministry in the places where people are. Hebrews reminds its readers others once aligned them with insulted and afflicted people. The Hebrews community once were "partners" with those people. Theirs was a bold ministry because of it. I suppose what I've been reflecting on is this question. How much do our buildings take us away from that kind of bold ministry? The incarnation started in a manger. Whether it was at the inn like our Christmas plays illustrate or, more likely, in a room in someone's house, there was an address of some sort. But the incarnation didn't stay there. Does God want us to stay at our holy address? Stay blessed...john