Upward, Inward, Outward

Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another. Hebrews 10:24-25, NIV

“THAT CHURCH DIDN’T have everything we need, so we are looking for another church that does.”

This is often the response I receive when I ask visitors how they found our church. Whether the children’s ministry wasn’t strong enough, or the teaching wasn’t their style, or the people were too messed up, they’ll just keep looking they say.

I fully stand behind finding a church that has solid teaching—that stands firm on the Good News that though we are sinners, Jesus died for our sins and is the only way back to God. But as these families hunt for the perfect church, I want them to reframe their mind-set:

Ask not what the church can do for me; ask what I can do for the church.

Consumerism is plaguing our society and has crept into our churches as well. How do we solve the consumer mentality that is plaguing our souls?

We commit to real community.

After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, my husband and I took one hundred college students there during their spring break to help with the relief efforts. We drove fourteen hours from Ohio with a twenty-three-car caravan. Throughout the week we served tirelessly together, tearing down sludgy walls, gutting abandoned houses, encountering snakes inside refrigerators, and working out our conflict in close quarters.

We experienced community. I often look back on that week and see a picture of the kind of community the Bible describes. As God poured out His love to us, we then loved one another, and our love for others then poured out into the world—upward, inward, outward.

We were experiencing God, worshiping Him with our souls facing upward. We were challenged to love one another inwardly as a family. And we were on mission outwardly together for disaster cleanup.

Everyone played a different role that week, functioning as a different part of the body. Some of us wore grace as foremen for projects, some of us wore grace by overseeing the demolition of kitchens and bathrooms, some of us wore grace as we delivered supplies. We all played a part; we all had a truly vital gift to give.

What would it look like to come to a church community with gifts to offer, asking how you can give, serve, help? What would it look like if we sought to fill holes rather than find problems? What if we set out to make right anything we notice falling apart? Commitment to community combats consumerism.

Of course, problems, conflict, and mess are part of any community filled with human beings. Being part of a greater group, a church, is actually a trust fall. You risk getting close to other people and getting hurt. But that risk also brings great reward. You can be known. You can be loved. You can use your gifts from God to bless a church. You can see how God will grow your love upward, inward, and outward as you are challenged and encouraged. It’s a beautiful, risky trust fall. But you’ll also learn that there’s grace to be found.

GRACE REFLECTION: Consider times you have felt part of a community. What have been the benefits? The hardships? How might God be calling you to a greater level of community and gift-giving to your church?