The Someone at the Church

Growing up in the church I heard all kind of “church phrases”.  I remember hearing things like “I don’t think they prayed enough and that is why it happened”, “I heard that he can’t keep a job because he drinks a lot”, “Well the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree so you can see why their kids act like they do”, or “Someone from the Church should do something for them”.  Now, I admit most of these I remember being at belt level when I heard these conversations, but nonetheless they stuck with me.  Especially the last one; “Someone from the Church should…” 

At first, I thought there was actually a little guy that lived somewhere in the Church building who was called the “Someone from the Church”.  I imagined he looked like a character from Where the Wild Things Are, but never could see him for myself to confirm it.  I figured that the reason I didn’t see him or know his real name was because he only came around when someone needed something like when a homeless person came in from the street needing money or when a single parent couldn’t pay her electric bill.  Perhaps when I got older, I thought, I would learn the secret to find him when I came across someone that needed something because every older person I knew called him anytime one of the situations came about.  What was interesting to me is that even though they would call the “Someone at the Church” for his help, they always acted like they had done the work and were very proud of themselves when it was obvious that all the work was down the by little guy at the Church.

Well eventually I learned that there is no such person as the “Someone from the Church” (although you can ask any Church secretary or Pastor and they may tell you otherwise).  I came to realize that what those people were really asking for was someone else to do the work of helping someone.  They felt really good about telling other people about people’s problems instead of actually doing something about it.  You see doing something might cause a crack to form in their “Christian Bubble”.  Trust me, cracking this protective bubble would be detrimental to the safe and “perfect” world they lived in and it could potentially cause their hands to get dirty.  Yuck!  No, it was far easier to call the Church and ask the “Someone from the Church” to be unleashed from his hiding place and take care of the problem…however that happened.

Ok, I will jump out of this tongue-in-cheek story to get very real with all of us.  As we open this new Campus there will be no “Someone at the Church” because that someone is you and me.  We are the body of Christ, we are the people that call Jesus Lord and Savior, and we are the people that God has given the breath of life to.  It is all of our responsibility to meet the needs of those we see around us.

So, if you see a single mom out to dinner with her kids and she can’t take a bite of food because she is trying to make sure the kids don’t kill each other, don’t shake your head and grab your phone to call the Church.  Call the server over, tell them to give you the mother’s check, and pay for her meal.  Don’t tell her who it is from, but just have the server tell her that Jesus loves her.  Don’t look for the credit, just meet the need.   

If you know about a family that is having trouble getting school supplies together for their kids, don’t look for the “Someone from the Church” to take up a collection.  Go to Target, get some school supplies, stick it in a back-pack and leave it on their front step with a card inviting them to come to church.  Don’t pass the responsibility on, just meet the need. 

Our mission at Lockport is to show the love of Jesus to as many people as we can and 99% of that mission is accomplished outside the walls of the Church!  Your ministry mission is in your homes, neighborhoods, jobs, sports teams, and anywhere your two feet take you.  Christ needs us to be his hands and feet in all situations and not pass the responsibility on to someone else. 

I’m sorry to say, but I have made an Executive decision.

Effectively immediately I am firing the “Someone at the Church”.  He is out of work, homeless, and there is no chance I’m rehiring him.

Now get out there and meet some needs. 

All for His Glory,

Brian Hunt

Campus Pastor

Comments

[Melissa]

Brian (Donald Trump?),
Your firing of "someone at the church" brings not only an inspirational message for the members of Parkview who are embarking on this Godly mission, but also a great reminder to those of us who will continue on in Orland Park to "just meet the need". Thank you for being such a blessing to our church.

[Trevor]

Actually there really was a "Someone from the Church" at FCC. Remember up in the loft, like when you would go to the sound booth, there was a little door into a small attic space... yeah that's where he lived.
The problem with him was he was either always to busy or just extremely lazy.
I got locked in that space once...freaked me out...like that scene in the Sixth Sense.
He may have left though...probably when JB's did.

[good post]