From the Bishop...

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Guest editorial

It’s not about the church, it’s about the people

     Guest writer, Diane Allarding, is Executive Administrative Assistant to Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton.
     Growing up in a church (making it an old church) has its advantages and disadvantages – its challenges and opportunities. Expectations are different, perspectives are different – people are different. Does that mean that old churches have outlived their gifts and graces and only new churches know how to reach out to the seeking and the lost? Not so much. For it’s not the bricks and mortar that make the church – it is the people who live out their relationship in and with Christ that make the difference.
     What does the old church have that the new church doesn’t? History, legacy, rich traditions are to name only a few. What does a new church have that the old church doesn’t? No history, no legacy, no rich traditions…. However, a new church allows us to view change in a good way. What’s important in your church – the color of the carpet, the color of the walls? Or is it a hospitality center that welcomes anyone and everyone with both human interaction and resources for ministry growth and opportunity. In your church is it more important that the pastor only preach for the allotted 15-20 minutes or do you make room in your day to be engaged, challenged and worshipful for the rest of the week? Traditions and legacy are not to be devalued, but we need to assess who it is and what it is that we are really worshipping. By hanging on to what we value as representative of our beliefs, are we providing stumbling blocks for others?
     I love my church – but I love God way more.
     We have such a tendency to assume that what we think is the way that everyone thinks (or should think). Christ is the one that broke out of the box – meeting and eating with less desirable people – coming to save the lost. It is the ministry that goes on in churches new or old that is far more critical to the reaching of those who are marginalized, disadvantaged or searching than the traditions and the all to common phrase “we’ve never done it that way before” or “we’ve always done it this way.” It is John Wesley’s words that continue to be a strong motivator: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can….” Let us not be confined by our physical buildings – new or old – nor our passion for contemporary or traditional worship, but by our desire to strive for excellence in relationships and being light bearers of the Good News.