Lent 17

Today, I laughed out loud at a comment from a friend. She said, "I hate to say this, but the more involved I get with the church, the more disappointed I become." I felt bad about laughing at this, but I quickly explained that I was laughing at the truth of her statement and that it happens all the time and in most churches. It's pretty ridiculous, actually, that the closer you get to the inner workings of the church that the more disappointed you will become. It's like they always say: two things you don't want people to see how you make...laws and sausages. I guess the structure and administration of the church should be added to the list.

But is this the way the church should be? Dare I say no? The church, at least the UMC, does, in a lot of ways, run like a business--a corporation, even. We have a board and committees and the virtual equivalent to a human resources department. We have staff meetings and ad hoc committees to complete tasks and websites and e-mail addresses. But in all this, it seems that we have lost sight of what the church really is. We are the body of Christ. We aren't a building or a business. We are the body of Christ. We might do ourselves a favor to pause and think how Christ may feel about the way we treat and use his body. We might to well to treat our tasks and missions as the church with a little more sanctity than we do most of the time. And I say all this with the very serious hope in Jesus Christ who makes all things new, sanctifies all things, and through grace makes us better and better.