Why I Love my Church

I’ve been a part of First Presbyterian Church in Bellingham, Washington for just over 13 years. I wouldn’t trade it for another. It’s not a perfect church. No church is. Still, I love my church. Today I was given three healthy reasons why.

First, it’s Presbyterian. I’ll just leave it at that.

Second, it’s not always pretty.

No one would ever consider FPC of being polished. No ministry magazine will knock on our door asking us to host a ministry in the 21^st century webinar. We miss cues. There are more technical hiccups than I’d care to admit. And let’s not forget the dreaded dead spaces. The service generally incorporates the buzzing beehive of noise that is crying babies and anxious kids. We pray a lot. We confess our sins. (Who wants to be remided of that?) And then we pray some more. Not everyone that stands to speak was born to do so. From a purely professional standpoint, it leaves something to be desired. If you wanted to critique it and run a review in the paper, you would have plenty of reasons to complain.

It isn’t amateur hour either. We have immensely wonderful talented, Spirit-filled people creating music, writing and giving prayers, preaching sermons, and pushing us into devoted care and service for all that we meet. Still, we’re human. And that means Sunday morning isn’t always the paradigm of beauty.

And I love that. It’s a tangible reminder of how God’s grace comes to us. It’s in this messiness, these failures, and moments of weaknesses that I’m confronted by the character of God.

God’s salvation didn’t come pretty. It came in a man born and raised in a backwoods town. Most of his life didn’t warrant mention. He made his name as a wandering preacher of the rule of God, healer of the lame, one who eats with all kinds, and a challenger of the religious status quo. It didn’t end well either. Just when things seemed to be going his way, the tables were turned and he was crucified as a blasphemous, God-forsaken, political rebel. And in the end, this same Jesus of Nazareth was vindicated by God the Father in his resurrection from the dead, bringing forgiveness, healing, and life for all.

Like any church, FPC is a group of real people. We do your taxes. We pour your coffee. We teach your children. We park next to you. On Sunday morning we’re real people who gather together as ones who have been vindicated by God through the power of Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. We live as people who experience God’s presence in the person and work of the Holy Spirit. We come not as people who have it all together, who have everything figured out, and then put on a show to impress each other or whoever might show up. It’s not a time to pat each other’s back on the ways we have it figured out. It’s not a time to celebrate how we’ve got it right. It’s not even a time to point out where those around us have got it wrong.

We come as people who do what we can to offer what we have. We come to give our thanks and gratitude to God.  We come to listen and hear.  We come to proclaim. We come to encounter God and to be changed. I know I can’t speak for everyone, but I feel this in our awkwardness, messiness, and fragility. It’s by God’s grace we’re gathered. It’s by God’s grace we’re healed.

Finally, FPC is a church that affirms, encourages, and enables the Spiritual gifts of women. At FPC, all women are given a chance to use their God-given gifts to minister, equip, challenge, and encourage the entire body of faith—man or woman, adult or child.

This morning the music was led by the talented Jocelyn Meyer. As usual her choice of songs was purposeful and appropriate to the themes of the morning. She led the worship to in a set of songs that were an equal mix of frailty and wild abandon. Technically proficient, they never focused the attention on themselves. They did what they were there to do: lead the congregation in songs of thankfulness and praise.

The prayers were delivered by Linda Kolody. She guided the congregation in a communal praying for not only our community but for our entire world. She prayed for a government that transcends political differences but zeroed in on the concerns of the Kingdom. She prayed with honesty and fearlessness and was grounded in our hope in Christ.

Lastly Lisa Schwank brought a beautiful message of God’s healing power. In her own word and voice she proudly and powerful proclaimed God’s word. In it I was confronted by God to my own inertia and willingness to simply accept as is the areas of my life that need healing. I was reminded of just how much a willingness to receive the healing of Christ means a radical rupture of my carefully constructed life. To put it bluntly, Lisa faithfully proclaimed God’s Word to God’s people and I am thankful for that.

I’m thankful that I’m a part of a congregation that allows these wonderfully gifted women to use their gifts to minister to not only me but the entire congregation. They fearlessly allowed themselves to proclaim God’s word to a broken, yet being restored, people of faith.

My hope is that everyone can say this about their church. I don’t want anyone to leave their church for mine. But if you’re in town on a Sunday morning, we’d love to see you here.