Easy

I was looking through some photos that were taken the last time I went to Mexico. In the pic, I’m having a casual conversation with a good friend of mine, as we sit on a park bench. It’s very unremarkable. But it spoke to me.

What the photo doesn’t show is that we are surrounded by dozens of kids who live in an orphanage just a few miles into Mexico. Our group had just finished feeding them dinner — burgers, chips, a can of soda, and some cookies. Not a very special meal by our standards, but an absolute feast by theirs. They rarely get meat, and to be able to have seconds is unheard of. And of course a whole can of pop to themselves is quite a treat.

So my friend and I were just relaxing as the kids ran and played all around us. I was reminded then, and am again now, of the advice of Jesus: “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.”

None of those kids will ever invite me over to dinner at their house. I’ll never get repaid, and I don’t mind a bit. Jesus was right — I was blessed. It was a privilege to serve them. We escorted the kids through the food line, helped the little ones with their plates, and waited on the tables throughout the meal. It was easy.

Donald Miller wrote, “When you love somebody, you get pleasure from their pleasure, and it makes it easy to serve.”

So easy.

Let’s start a church! Oh wait, maybe not

I’ve been thinking for some time of what it would take to start a church. That is, what it would take for me to start a church. It sounds like a fun, challenging, and worthwhile idea — at least, it did until I watched my friend in the middle of one.

It seems the problem lies in whatever meaning people pour in to the word “church”. In English, the word could mean a building, a meeting held at the building, or the group of people who attend that meeting. But even more difficult are the things people attach to the notion of church. There appears to be an assumption that a church should have certain features, like youth group and moms’ day out, and provide certain offerings, such as marriage ceremonies and confirmation classes. People may start attending because they like the pastor or whatever, but sooner or later it seems they inevitably start looking around for the other stuff.

Maybe it’s because the church takes money. If people give to the church, maybe they think the church should be doing something for them.

So I don’t want to start a church anymore. Instead, I’d like to be part of a community that does the four things the disciples did in Acts: the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, eating together, and praying. Let’s not call it church. Let’s not take money. Let’s just start doing the stuff the apostles did — and see what happens.

Heaven

So I’m driving down the highway, and I see a billboard advertising a resort just a few hours away. There’s a picture of a guy golfing, and he’s saying something like this: “My wife’s at the spa, the kids are at the playground, and I’m in heaven.” What?

I just got back from a three-week family vacation to the east coast: Williamsburg, Jamestown, Wash DC, NYC, Philadelphia, and points in between. I would absolutely not have traded it for anything, especially a holiday where the various family members are shipped off to different venues. A vacation is where you don’t see your family? What’s up with that?

I can understand that we all need some time to recharge, but to advertise a vacation spot where you don’t actually have to spend time with your own family members….well, that doesn’t sound much like heaven to me. “Something for everyone” is good, but a separate “something for everyone” — not so much.