Location: Growing roots in my usual spot in my bedroom in Oradea, Romania (the last day of May at about midday)
I just returned from a worship service (my first in Romania). Have you ever wondered what church might be like in Romania? Probably not. But if you do now, let me tell you.
A large portion of the Church in Romania is Greek Orthodox, but even if one attends a Catholic or Protestant church, baptism and membership are extremely important. Most of you know that I most often worship among Protestants, though what is important to me is not the label but that the community who is worshipping together is doing so in loving submission to their Lord and Friend, Jesus.
J. and her (our) coworker (G.) invited me to come to their service today, which meets in the gym of the other school where J. works (I had not yet been there). This congregation is demographically young Romanian families in casual dress, probably mostly middle-class (as much as there is one here), and quite "Westernized" despite everything happening in the Romanian language. A loud rock-style band leads worship, and three or four pastors share preaching and shepherding responsibilities.
Knowing that my extremely limited Romanian skills would prevent me from understanding most of what was said, I prayed carefully before the service. I prayed that God would keep me focused on Him, not my surroundings. That He would give me the understanding I needed to be able to worship Him, even if that was in a different way from those around me. That He would not let me become distracted by the people around me, the music, the language, my incomprehension, the environment, my expectations, or anything else. Thanks to God alone, I greatly enjoyed the service, miraculously understanding most of the main points of the sermon, as confirmed by J. who helped to fill in the gaps afterward. I was able to worship intimitely with the Lord, despite the barriers and distractions and only having a French Bible with me. The Word was presented carefully, from 2 Kings 4 and 2 Kings 20, with the question being "What do you have in your house?" This meant first that we should use the resources God has given us, even when we do not think we have anything of value. Secondly, the story of King Hezekiah in chapter 20 reminds us to think about what we value and how we treat the things we value. Then the pastor took us from the Old Testament (the first half of the Bible) to the New Testament (the second half), all the way to Acts 3:6, when the apostle Peter had no material resources but a relational resource--Jesus. So the question changed to "Who do you have in your house?" When Jesus lives in us, we have more than we could ever need to be whole, healthy, and wealthy.
I thank the Lord for helping me to understand and to unite in worship with the congregation I visited. I thank Him for answering my prayers, that His name might be glorified.
Have you ever gone to church, had a miserable time, and decided you were done with that "religious stuff"? Have you ever come back from church thinking, "I got nothing out of it--what a waste of time!" Have you ever come back from church dissecting everything that was wrong (real or imagined) about the service or the people in attendence? I have.
In fact, I thought that I might get very little out of church today, because of my language barrier. This brings up a couple of points:
1. Church is not an entertainment or social event we "attend" in order to receive pleasure or blessing.
2. Do you pray for your Church?
The word "attend" is a great word. In French, for example, it means "to wait." That is more the sense that is appropriate for the Church. The word "Church" refers not to a building or a service or an institution, but instead to a community of people. Like any group of people, it includes grumpy, ornery, smelly, annoying, flawed people. So we cannot really "go" to church, but we can be "part" of the Church. The reason the Church gathers (whenever it meets) is not to show off fancy clothes or airs in front of one another. Rather the Church gathers because it is only complete when its individuals come together into community. Then it can function corporately. Individuals can bless and be blessed by those around them. We can pray for one another. We can worship together. We can help one another, encourage one another. We come together and "attend," wait upon the Lord. We come together and symbolically say, "God, we join together in agreement and remembrance that You are our Lord and King, and so as a people we bow before You and humble ourselves, that Your will might be done and that Your Name might be praised. We receive the love and blessings You give us, and we ask that You accept us as a people as an offering of love and thanksgiving to You."
If you get nothing out of "going to church," perhaps you are not putting anything into it. I recommend looking for a group of people whom you can love and who you will let love you.
When you find that group, pray for them. Pray for the leaders, the custodians, the elders and the infants, and everyone in between! Pray for the Church before you gather, that the Holy Spirit might go before you and prepare the leaders and the congregation to be united in humble worship and loving community. Pray for yourself that you might be prepared to receive what it is that the Lord has for you.
You might think that it is easier for me to remember to pray for the worship service since I am in a foreign land. To tell you the truth, I find it easier when I am among my home congregation, for then I know the names of the pastors and the people, I know the issues that are going on, the needs of the Body, and so on.
When I walked the streets of Oradea this morning, you could tell who was going to church by the way they dressed and by the looks on their faces. Some of the congregations here, from what I am told, are quite legalistic or lifeless. There are congregations like that everywhere, sadly.
If you have visited that type of church before and decided never to return; find an alive community of people and give it another shot! If you are part of a congregation like that, use the resources that God has given you to make sure that Jesus is living in your house, and in your Church. May church not be about what it looks like, but who it looks like.
Church, may you and I allow Jesus to mold us into His own image, that the world around us may not see self-righteous hypocrites, smug legalists, or aloof Bible-beaters, but instead that they would see our loving Savior for who He truly is, the charming Prince of Peace who longs to love the most unloveable of us, who longs to love even you and me.
On this Lord's Day and everyday, allow yourself to be blessed in the Name of that Lord, Jesus. I bless you in His Name!
This blog is your opportunity to travel with me wherever I am in the world, during both the mundane and exciting moments of life that I humbly recognize as holy. As I bare my life to you, may your reading take you beyond my words to the Word, beyond my life to the Life, beyond the chaos to the Truth, and beyond teachings to the Teacher--the Rabboni. I promise it will be an adventure, and by the end, may you, too, truly know the Way!
A Rose From Home
My Story (As prepared for my church congregation this spring--2009)
I have a story to tell you. I am the main character, but the story is not about me. I have traveled several parts of the world, but my adventure has been closer to home. I am twenty-six years old. My story begins like many of yours…
I grew up going to church. I had been born into a family who labeled themselves “Christian,” in a country that labels itself “Christian.” Every Sunday found me attending a worship service and Sunday school in a mainline denomination church. I served as an acolyte, attended Vacation Bible School, helped my dad count and record the offering money, sang in the youth choir, was a leader in the youth group, and occasionally served as liturgist. Baptized as an infant, I was confirmed at the age of twelve, thus becoming an “official” member of the church. Then, hurt by the church, my family left to find another.
Have you ever been hurt by the Church?
After months of searching, we settled into a very large independent church. Things were different there, and I was quickly welcomed and at home among new friends that truly had a passion for Jesus. The Word of God was taught boldly from the pulpit, and I was introduced to a missions-aware lifestyle. So it was with regret that I said goodbye only a couple of years later to move with my family to another church. I purposely remained aloof, not wanting to make new friendships before I left for college a year later. Besides, I was loosing my faith—or so I thought—and I didn’t want anyone to know. I was asking scary questions like “Is there really a God?” and, if so, “Is He the Christian God?” and “Would I be Christian if I had been born in another part of the world?”
Have you ever asked yourself unsettling questions about what you believe?
So I headed into college under a cloud of confusion that only worsened for the next two years. Though I didn’t know what I believed anymore, I continued to go to church every Sunday, and to help lead worship in chapel. Most importantly, even during this questioning, I continued my morning habit of daily study of the Bible. I had begun at age twelve, reading at first a chapter per day, then ten minutes each morning, then an half-hour, and so on. So, only by the grace of the very God I doubted, I remained anchored in His Word and in His community, though I felt like a fake most of the time. Since then I have learned that “fake” is the worst insult the world can give us; that is why the label of “hypocrite” is so offensive.
Have you ever felt like a fake?
Six weeks with missionaries in South Africa followed by a year in France began to teach me what life with God is all about. I began rebuilding my faith, this time it belonged to me, in contrast to me borrowing the faith of my parents, church, or anyone else. In my parent’s basement in 2003, on either Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve, I invited Jesus to live in me; perhaps I had done so before, but I didn’t recall—but since 2003, I have never forgotten that moment. Unfortunately, nothing changed. I continued to do my best to act like a Christian, as I had done for so long.
Have you ever found yourself “doing your best” to be a good person, or to act like a Christian?
Though I did not realize it at the time, I was quenching the Spirit, even though I had welcomed Him into my life. During the next few years, the LORD continued to nurture me, and slowly things began to change. Several tough months in Idaho birthed my prayer-life. I spent three years being humbled in a job that was my informal seminary training. In 2007, a short stint in Mexico helped me to see things as they were, and not long afterward, I was baptized by immersion. No baptism of any kind can save a lost soul—only Jesus can do that. However, this baptism was an important covenant between me and God, symbolizing not only my death and resurrection with Jesus and my public profession of faith, but it also my life change, the beginning of my bearing fruit. “For each tree is known by its own fruit…”according to Luke 6:44. During the past year and a half, the LORD has provided me with an informal pastoral internship in my church, teaching me every aspect of discipleship. Simultaneously, I have been studying unceasing prayer and worship. I am now very different than I was five years ago.
In the Book of Acts (which tells the story of the earliest years of the Church) every time a person decided to follow Christ, two things took place—though not always in the same order. Each person experienced a life change, which I call the “baptism of repentance,” as well as the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which I call the “baptism of the Spirit.” Looking back, I realize that the Holy Spirit was living in me in 2003, but it wasn’t until I surrendered everything to God, as represented by my immersion, that I allowed the Spirit to have His way in me and transform my life. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now life in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (Galatians 2:20)”
Have you invited Jesus to live in you? Have you allowed the Spirit to transform your life?
I tell you this story for two reasons. First, I tell this story in order to boast in the LORD! May God our Father get all praise and glory forever! Second, I tell this story because it is relevant to you. Likely you have heard that I am leaving the country: I have let my light shine before you; please let your light shine within the Church, too! This congregation is in revival, and as each of you allows the Spirit to revive you, the entire Church will be revived and utterly transformed, to the glory of the Most High God. And for His glory is the reason He created us; the reason He sent His only Son to reveal Himself to us; the reason He became Sin for us and died for us on the cross—while we were still sinners; and the reason that He conquered death and offered us eternal life with Him.
It will cost you a lot—in fact, it will cost you everything, your very life. But if you have never surrendered your life to Christ Jesus, if you have never invited Him to send His Spirit into you and to transform your life, then do it right now. Just let go of everything to which you are desperately clinging; stop trying to do it yourself! This is the very reason you are still breathing in this physical life—God has been delaying His judgment of this sinful world because He is waiting for you—2 Peter 3:9 says He wants none to perish!
If you have already invited the Spirit into your life, then live like it! Bear fruit! Anyone and everyone who meets you or knows you or sees you or hears you should know immediately and clearly that Jesus the Christ lives in you and loves them! That is how stark the contrast should be between your life and the world around you!
Have you immersed yourself in God’s Word and in prayer in the last twenty-four hours?
If you call yourself a follower of Christ, then there is no excuse for not communing with Him daily! Anchor yourself in the Word! God has revealed Himself to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Bible is a complete and accurate record of that revelation. And prayer is humbly letting Him love us. Let Him love you! God doesn’t need us, but He wants us! God doesn’t need us to live for Him—He wants to live in and through us! Let us love and fellowship with one another, even when you disagree! Pray for each other—the names in the church directory are a great place to start! Church, we are not only the Body of Christ, but we are the Bride of Christ. We have allowed ourselves to get bedraggled and stained—now let us stand to the glory of God! Let’s let Him purify us, restore us, and love us!
My dear Brothers and Sisters, if you have ever once been blessed by God our Father at work in me, then I urge you, please, take seriously His desire to love and work in you, beyond anything you can ask or imagine! I have told you the beginning of my story—may it end in glory to the Father, in the Name of Jesus, by way of His Spirit.
Now, what is your story?