Me:  How was fellowship today?

Prodigal:  Well someone was throwin’ words out of my song.

Me:  We are all misunderstood at times.

Prodigal:  Some encouragement would be helpful

 

This is from the book You Can Change by Tim Chester

 

Someone asked me how things were going recently.  It’s not really a “yes” or “no” (“good” or “bad”) question.  Life in our congregation is messy.  People have a wide variety of problems and many of those problems are out on the table.  Are things going well when one of your members has been hauled out of  pub in a drunken state?  When people admit problems in their marriage?  When people are struggling with depression?  Actually I think the answer can be, “Yes, things are going well.”  A key verse for me in recent years has been the first beatitude, which I paraphase as:  “Blessed are the broken people for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  God’s blessing is found among the broken people.  I don’t rejoice in people’s problems, but I do rejoice to be part of a community of broken people.  I sometimes describe our church as a group of messy people led by messy people.  It’s proved a context in which I’ve been able to address my own struggles.

What’s the alternative?  One alternative is to be a church in which there’s a lot of pretending–where people have problems, but the culture doesn’t allow them to be open.  Churches like this are very neat and respectable.  But I know I’d rather be in a messy church!  Mess reflects I think, a culture of grace.  We pretend because either we don’t trust God’s grace for ourselves or we don’t trust others to show us grace.

 

Welcome to our mess, which God makes beautiful!

 

Psalm 29:11

May the LORD give strength to his people.  May the LORD bless his people with peace,

 

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org