Church

Last night I was in a meeting at church and I had an interesting parallel moment with an earlier time in my life.

I grew up going to the same church all my life until I was 18. Sometime between my ninth and eleventh year I came to this exciting realization. We were having a covered dish Sunday night dinner in the fellowhip hall (some call that a pot-luck, for us it was "covered dish.") It went as normal. Everyone pretty much brought the same thing they always brought. Everyone talked in that little room like they always talked. I remember looking over at the table with Debbie Reeves in it and laughing at her making some funny comment, like she always did. I saw Elbert and Mildred Thorne, a couple who was then in their seventies, laughing at whatever it was Debbie was saying. Laura and Jerry Schmidt were holding court at their table talking about math or engineering, or something like that... their expertise. One by one I looked around and had this amazing thought, or at least amazing to a kid.... "Wait a second, this is awesome. I KNOW all of these people. I know what they're going to do, for the most part. I know their quirks. I know their struggles and their joys and their ambitions and dreams. I know their kids and their parents and who in town doesn't like them and who in town is intimidated by them and who in town is indifferent toward them. I know where they live. If I showed up at their doorstep I'd be let in with open arms. I KNOW these people." In whatever words I had to express that in my mind, I felt it.

Last night I remembered that thought when I was meeting with this ragtag group from UBC gathered together as a lay-commitee for a guy who is doing his internship at our church. As we were sharing our story I had the same amazing thought... "I KNOW these people." And the same thoughts came flooding in.

And more important than the knowledge of these people, in both First Baptist Chandler and University Baptist Waco, was that I LOVE these people. Sure our quirky little church has it's problems. Sure the homogeneous nature of our congregation is lacking in providing opportunities for cross-generational interaction. I'm sure we have perception problems. But one thing I know is, that I have slowly developed a sincere love for the people that I sit in the pews (chairs) with every Sunday.