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The Value of the Messy Church

          We like heroes.  We like people who single-handedly made a difference in the world.  People like Amelia Earhart, Martin Luther King Jr, Terry Fox, Rick Hansen and Chris Hadfield inspire us with their determination and courage. 
            However, when we stop and think about it we realize that no one really does anything “single-handedly”.  Someone taught Amelia Earhart how to fly.  Thousands marched with Martin Luther King Jr.  Canadians from all walks of life contributed millions to help the causes that Terry Fox and Rick Hansen were promoting.  Several times in his book, Chris Hadfield points out that his success was due to the support that he received from the Canadian Space Agency, NASA and his family.  While it is good to honour “heroes” and to give “honour where honour is due”, it is also valuable to recognize that success is usually born from a community of people.
            Interestingly, the value of “community” is seen throughout the course of God’s interaction with man.  God almost always works with groups of people.  From the family of Abraham, to the Israelite nation, to Jesus choosing the twelve apostles, to the start of the church, God has shown that while our spiritual life is an “individual” thing, but it is not “individualistic”.  In other words, you are accountable for your relationship to God, but it is not only about “you and God”.  We are taught, shaped and saved within the community of God’s people. 
            Comparing the church to the human body, Paul says, “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body… The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’… You are the body of Christ and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:12; 21; 27).  We need one another.
            Granted, churches are not always perfect.  As Eugene Peterson points out, “Churches are not Victorian parlors where everything is always picked up and ready for guests.  They are messy family rooms…. Things are out of order, to be sure, but that is what happens to churches when they are lived in.”  However, within that messy family room you also find joy, laughter, memories and shared lives.
            I hope that you have a strong, personal belief in God, but I also pray that you find a way to share that within the community of God’s people.  The church needs you and, whether you know it or not, you need the church.
            We are intended to grow together.
            “Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

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