As I squirmed in my hard seat trying to get comfortable I aimlessly flipped through a Bible looking for some way to entertain myself. There was a formality in the air and frankly, I was bored. I stood and hummed along to a song I didn’t know all the words to, then sat and bowed my head as someone in the front prayed. A testimony was shared, some announcements were given, and then an offering bag was passed around in silence as people dropped in what they could. The pastor stood and shared a message that was full of scripture references and was heartfelt, but I couldn’t seem to find how it applied to my life. When he finally wrapped up with one more song and a prayer, I breathed a sigh of relief and stood, anxious to stretch my legs and get some lunch.
Rewind to the night before.
As I lounged on the living room floor in my sweats I couldn’t take my eyes off the faces around me or wipe the smile off of my own. Despite the evening chill, there was a warmth in the air that can only emanate from friends and family packed into one room. As one of those friends strummed his guitar I sang along loudly, not caring if I was off key. With my eyes open and head up I talked to God while everyone else had their own conversations with Him. We sat laughing, sharing stories and recounting the last few days as a plate of warm food was passed around and everyone dug in. Someone picked up a bible and the word of God was read as we listened eagerly and discussed. The guitar was picked up again and we sang everything from Taylor Swift to the Beatles, clapping, laughing, and lingering, not wanting the night to end. When it was finally too late to delay heading home any longer, we reluctantly and slowly parted with warm hugs, a hundred goodbyes and full bellies and hearts.
That Sunday morning I sat in a church building. That Saturday evening I sat in a hut belonging to an 89 year old woman who we affectionately referred to as our Thai grandma. Sunday morning I sat in a church service. Saturday evening I sat with THE church.
The book of Acts describes the earliest beginnings of the church.
Acts 2:42-47
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer… All the believers were together and had everything in common… Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.
THIS was the church.
Disclaimer: I love and deeply value the American church – it has shaped me and grown me, counseled me and provided for me. It’s why I’m here. I think the structure and teaching the church provides is incredibly important.
But do you ever wonder if there’s more?
Before leaving for the race, some friends asked why I chose to do missions outside of the formal church structure. AIM is a multi-denominational organization and I had no guarantee that my teammates’ theology would be the same as mine or that we’d interpret and apply scripture the same. Where is the authority and the structure in that? After hearing their arguments, I started to worry they were right. Maybe I was making a mistake venturing into “para-church” misisons.
But the truth is, here in the nations, I’m experiencing the church in the most authentic way I’ve ever known.
Do we go to a church building every Sunday? Not always.
Does our theology line up perfectly? Nope.
Are we always in total agreement? No.
Is it easy? Definitely not.
In fact, it’s messy and hard and sometimes a downright struggle.
But we’re in it together.
Every day, we fight for each other.
Every day, we devote ourselves to the teaching of the Lord and to fellowship.
We meet together, pray together, break bread together, praise God together, enjoy each other’s favor.
We sit around and wonder about the mysteries of God that we’ll never understand.
We claim Christ crucified and lean on his power and wisdom.
And it’s enough. And it’s beautiful. And it’s different than anything I’ve ever done in America.
We don’t GO to church, we ARE the church.
