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The other day I was reading over an article a colleague wrote for his church
newsletter. He was discussing how there are special times in the church,
like before Easter and Lent, in which we spend time preparing our hearts to
be reminded of the great events of our faith. The time in between is often
referred to as ordinary time. Ordinary time generally happens between June
and November. Usually, this is a slow time for the church, a time to relax a
bit and step back. The time between June and now has certainly not
been ordinary around here.
In seminary we learn an old adage that generally 20% of the people do
80% of the work in churches.
I bet if we sat down and did the math for Central Christian it would
be much higher.
I spent a Saturday at the Wayne County Fair serving food with many
people from our church, 42 to be exact. I have to be honest, when we began
talking about working at the fair we were hesitant. We weren't quite sure
what to expect. The more I thought about it though, the more I liked the
idea.
You may have been to the fair and seen the churches with booths. They
sit behind the table waiting for someone to talk to, or maybe they'll hand
you the fake $100 bill to get you to read about the good news. I wonder how
often that really works?
What I saw when I came to the fair that Saturday was the perfect
picture of Central Christian. Even if we hadn't made $1,000 for the church,
it still would have been worth it. Long lines of hungry people waiting to be
served by smiling faces with Central Christian on their shirts. In our
unique way we made our impact on people at the fair. We served with great
attitudes, interacted with people in loving ways, and gave them the food and
drink they desired. We even had a number of good laughs along the way. I
hear the words of Isaiah 49:10:
They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or
the sun beat upon them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and
lead them beside springs of water.
Pictures of a church sharing the good news are all around us at
Central Christian. We are a church on a mission, and we are inviting others
to join us. For a pastor, it is the most exciting thing to watch. While
serving food we had a little cheer that went something like this:
I say Central, You say
Christian...Central...Christian...Go meat!
(have you seen the Hillshire
Farms commercial??)
From the fair to the many infants and children we have in worship, to
the hard work of our trustees to all our leaders -- we are a church working
together to get people fed.
Go Central Christian Go!
- Joel |
