Church...matters?

This year, midweek Lenten services have focused on the difficult questions in the book "Why Christian?" Pastor Mark has encouraged and guided us through asking such questions as "why does the church matter?"

For me, this question resonates on a very personal level. I grew up loving church, but college really put me in a time of questioning as I learned about other faiths and types of Christianity. I started to see how ugly and cruel the church (as people!) can be, and sometimes, how difficult it can be to be a Christian. At one point, I renounced the church and decided I'd had it and just couldn't be Christian any more. A close friend saw my struggle, and invited me to church. I declined, again and again. Finally, she invited me to come just for dinner--and if I felt up to it, I could stay for worship after. There, I immediately felt welcomed and unconditionally loved, even as the shy and awkward 18 year old that I was at the time. For the first time, I realized church really is a home, a refuge, and where I can find people who will support and walk with me as I seek to follow Christ.

When I went to Chile for a year after finishing undergrad, I again found the church to be a lifeline. There, despite the language barrier and the initial shock of a five hour worship service, I found God and a tremendous support system. I found that the church was an outlet where I could make a difference while walking with others--whether that meant starting a youth group with friends, serving bread and coffee to the homeless, building a church and playing with children in an impoverished neighborhood, or playing piano with a praise band.

In graduate school, and again as I moved to La Crosse nearly two years ago, the church has consistently been my home, my refuge, and my greatest support. When I was temporarily homeless because of the tornado last spring, it was the congregation at ELC that prayed for and with me and offered me places to stay (even congregation members I didn't know at the time!). Perhaps most powerful of all, they allowed me to serve with them as we cleaned up and rebuilt my neighborhood. There is something very amazing about being a part of sixty people of all ages and across the economic spectrum gathering together to lovingly and joyfully do mundane tasks in His name: picking up bricks and sticks and carrying them to the curb, raking pieces of roofing and insulation, pulling weeds and leaves from wire fences. When I tried to express my awe and thanks to the organizer, she told me that it wasn't anything remarkable--just the church in action. 

Does the church matter? I would argue that it is needed to survive: that we cannot live as the body of Christ unless we receive strength, community, challenges and wisdom from each other.

As you show Christ's love to the world this week and act as His hands, I invite you to savor the strength that comes from being part of the church community. I pray that you would be challenged and supported by this community, and that together, we can walk closer to Him. May it be so. Amen.

Rachel