#139 Whose Church?

As the pastor of Kanawha Christian Reformed Church, I live in the parsonage, which is across the street from the church building. Lanie, my two-year-old daughter, has gotten used to going across the street for worship on Sunday mornings. She also sometimes comes with my wife to visit me when I'm working in the study during the week. When Lanie looks out our window at the church building or talks about somebody going there, she refers to it as "Daddy's church." I'm glad that she's making a connection between me and the church. I work for the church and represent it in many ways. But I keep trying to explain to her that it's not just my church; it's her church, too. And it's Mommy's church and Miss Tracy's church and Miss Marilyn's church and Mister Larry's church and so on and so forth. We're all members of this church. I'm the pastor, but that doesn't give me any special claim of ownership. We all make up the congregation; it's our church. However, while I keep gently correcting Lanie, I know she's not the only one who thinks that way. I've heard some church members who've been around here much longer than I have refer to it as "Brian's church." I get it. It's easy to associate me with the church, and that's a nice way to talk about it to people who know me.

But as pastor, I think it's very important for me not to think of the church as my church. I do have quite a bit of authority, but I can't just do whatever I want. (On the flip-side, I have many responsibilities, but there are also a lot of roles that church members need to fill.) The church is a community; we're all in this together. It's our church. Plus, we believe that there truly is a head, a leader, an owner of the church. But that's not me; it's Christ Jesus. Jesus is in charge of the church. Jesus is the one who has saved us and brought us together. I serve the church because I serve Jesus, and the church belongs to Him. Remembering that keeps me humble, and it gives me hope when times are tough. So I'll keep telling Lanie that it's her church, and I'll work on helping understand that it's also really Jesus' church.

Grace and peace,

BMH