Fairlawn West

The continuing saga of the pews! Well, we got folks on this side and folks on that side...and I don't mean seated. In opinions. But it is clear, that most folks want the pews to be removed. The dilemma is how do we respond to the people who don't want them removed or want to have a slower process about it. (We first started talking about this five years ago at the time of our building renovation.)

How do we show respect or love for other people even though we won't allow their behavior or desires to hold hostage any of the changes that a majority of the people want? This falls into the question of "are we a community sharing a common vision and mission in the first place?" Because if we do, we wouldn't be spending so much time worrying about some individuals having their feelings hurt due to changes in the way we implement the mission. We would all be encouraging each other to get on with the mission that Jesus gave us.

That is happening around our church. But we are use to be more of a "membership entitlement" type of church and we are like an alcoholic trying to recover from that addiction. We have spent more time over whether we are showing friendship among the members than going out to be the love of Christ to the "least of these" in the world around us. We are letting go of that, but it is not easy!

What do you and I give our all to? For instance here in northeast Ohio, even with the bummer years we have had lately, folks are passionate about the Cleveland Brown's football team. And if someone tells you they have a tickets and ask you if you would like to go to a game, we will change our schedule to get to the game. We will give our spontaneous "all" for the Cleveland Browns.

That's what the worship of God started out to be. People would give up everything else in their routine to be part of it. It was the center of their life. And if someone asked them to come to worship, they dropped everything spontaneously wherever they were and shared in the praise and glory of God.

At our church we have had a five year "discussion" about pews. Whether we should take them out, replace them with new pews or replace them with chairs. At one point someone said it would be over their dead body the pews were taken out. I responded that then we should take down the cross in our sanctuary and replace it with a pew since we were more life and death focused on the pew.

What is it that you truly worship...are willing to give your life for...fall on your knees in humble and penitential all?

What's Lent? An old thing that some church folks have hung on to all these years? Our ancestors saw it as a gracious moment for 40 days to focus more intently and clearly on who is God, what is God doing, what is my life doing with God and what is God doing with my life, what is God doing with the part of the Christ's body where I serve? Find out more about Lent...

So what do you think? Is Lent for you? Why or why not?

What does "going to church" mean? Does that phrase make any sense for most folks under 35?

Is God for real?
How do you know whatever your answer is?

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