I've gained so much from my three years here at Grace Community Church in Goshen, IN. So I've been posting some of my biggest take-aways.
Part 1 was on a driving sense of calling and mission. Part 2 was about our unique calling to reach the men in our community. Part 3 is going to be on something that is borderline not-spiritual, but I think is very biblical and sadly all to absent in many Christian circles. Its the "F" word:
FUN.
We flat out have fun here. I think when guests come to Grace, they can quickly see that we are not God's "frozen chosen". To quote a friend from Grace Community in MD, "we may be fluffy, but we ain't stuffy".
There are so many negative examples of celebration within the world- alcohol abuse, provocative and sexual dancing, licentiousness and the like. Christian culture may have accepted the lie that we shouldn't dance or celebrate because we certainly don't want to be like that; because we don't want to be 'worldly'. Over the course of Christendom, church has started to look more like this: (pardon the gross characterization, but this is funny.)
Church, lets redeem celebration. A quick look at the stories in the Bible have tons of celebrations; The Israelites after crossing the Red Sea, David bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. In fact, If anyone in the world has a reason to celebrate, its the Church-- the people who actually have hope to offer and a reason to rejoice. We should be first-class celebrators.
There are certainly times to be sober and serious. Those times abound. But we are quick to celebrate when the occasion calls for it. Here are a couple of examples:
•Baptism-- Its like a party here. People "whoop" and "holler" when they see the outward testimony of God's transforming power in the lives of their friends and family. We cheer after every person gets dunked. I've seen more baptisms here at this church than I have in all my 30 years of church-life combined and its awesome. I never tire of baptisms. Praise the Lord for how He redeems our junk and turns our ashes into beauty!
•Communion- (Gasp). I am a devoted and life-long Grace Brethren'r- and we love our communions-- foot washing and all (foot "warshing" from some areas of the country). What I love about Grace Community is that we deeply love remembering the cross with all sobriety-- but when it comes to looking forward to our hope of glory in heaven, we pull out the confetti, loud music, joyous dancing, balloons and really celebrate. I love the fact that my children get to see what biblical celebrations look like. Our communions are not for the faint of heart though-- they regularly go three hours. Just warning you.
•Worship through singing and giving generously- We have no hesitation about being joyful and celebrating through our worship and giving.
•Major holidays and celebrations- For our Easter celebration this year, we opened with a flash mob. It was a blast (both literally and figuratively). Was it very spiritual? Not really. Did it set the tone of anticipation and celebration for a day where we celebrate the New Life we have in Christ? I think so. Did it show our guests that this is a place where its ok to smile and have fun? I think so. Was it a blast for everyone who got to participate? Absolutely.
• We threw a winter Luau celebration for our guests with special needs. There was absolutely nothing strategic about this. We weren't doing this to increase attendance or giving. We just wanted to show these valuable community members that Jesus loves them and so does Grace Community Church. It is one of the funnest things we do here (yes I said "funnest").
Lord, may your church regain its ability to celebrate with joy. May the world take notice of the hope we have.
Our confetti machine is just about worn out; awesome.
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