As a pastor I have the privilege of working with couples.  Sometimes before they are married and often afterwards.  Usually when it's "afterwards" it's because there is a problem.  The pressures of today's society wreck havoc on our marriages.  So many things vie for our attention.   The feeling of love is great. No, it's wonderful.  But marriage can be a real wakeup call.  Here's a great quote that is somewhat humorous, but with real implications.

"Love is blind – marriage is the eye-opener." – Pauline Thompson

Today our church completed Faith in Action emphasis by suspending church services and going into the community for various service projects.  This was a massive object lesson for us to comprehend that BEING the church is foundational to GOING to church.  Don’t get me wrong.  Going to church is really important.  But it takes full significance when coming to church is a celebration of what it means to be the church during the week.  Case in point – this afternoon we all returned from our projects to eat, share our stories and celebrate the day of service.  People were laughing, enjoying one another as much as I have seen since I’ve been at Grace.  Today was church in the truest sense.  When Tim led us in worship, our worship became an exclamation point to a day of serving others in the name of Christ.  Toward the end of the day the director from the Cottage Place in Ridgewood came by to thank us for our work over there.  I realized that today we built bridges into our communities.  We built bridges of credibility and humility.  We weren’t out there serving with an agenda.  We were serving because God tells us to.  These are the bridges God will use to allow us to share the love of Jesus.   I’m more and more convinced that to reach people with the love of Jesus we have to win the right to be heard.  Our culture is cynical and bombarded by images of religious hucksters, judgmental people and/or Christians who are self absorbed, never giving anything back to their community.  It’s like we have to tear down the barriers that have been built by some so we can build bridges.  I think of Jesus’ ministry.  He served people, met needs and proclaimed the truth of the Kingdom of God.  Oddly – he never judged.  He said he didn’t come to condemn but to save.  I like that.  The people he was most hard on was not the pagan society in which he lived, rather it was the religious people of the day. (seems like we've got that one backwards) Today, while pulling weeds at Ho-Ho-Kus elementary school, 2 conversations illustrate this.  They both occurred within  minutes of each other.  Another church meets in the school.  As they were leaving a woman stopped and asked Susan  about the writing on our shirts. (our shirts read  ‘Don’t Go to Church’.  At the bottom it reads “Be the Church.”  The lady never read the bottom.  Susan said we were from Grace Church.  Bu before she could explain, the lady said, “Doesn’t Grace believe in going to church?  I don’t think that is a very good  message.”  Then she walked off.  A few weeds later another woman (about the same age, from the same church) stopped and told Susan.  “This is so beautiful.  This is wonderful what you are doing.”   Now that’s cool.     I love church.  I love to worship together, studying God’s word together.  I’m reminded of the words from the writer to the Hebrews.  He captures the essence of going to church.

Hebrews 10:23-25 (NIV) 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.