Chapter 43 To Form the Perfect Union, Part III

So, here I am, following this living Word into a gas station turned super center. He starts to walk up and down the aisles, one by one, showing me all of the variety and the choices -- for this taste or another.

And this is just the candy section.

He’s not speaking now, as if to say, this is a time to simply follow him and if I will, quite literally in this case, he’ll reveal a few things, and I’ll find some answers to my questions.

So, while this whole thing may have started with angst and a certain fogginess over a bad margarita in a seedy bar, I'm hoping the fog will lift. As I've said before, I love a good metaphor.

We make our way to the salty snacks, then to the bread and the books and the magazines, even some tee-shirts, and then we move over to the drinks: all types of milk, soda, teas, lemonade; energy and caffeine in a bottle to go.

And beer. Lots of it. Light, dark, amber; cheap or expensive, you choose.

No tequila though, just in case you're wondering.

Convenience goods are everywhere. Impulse items, whatever you want to call ‘em. To refresh us, to fill us, to clothe us and to help us wake up. And yes, to entertain us.

Oh, and we can get gas here too. Forgot all about that.

So as I was saying, this is going to be more of a show than a tell. Must be some kind of mind trick, but it works. I get the sense he doesn't want me to compare and associate and scrutinize every aspect of our pit stop to the current state of the church, but just enough for me to raise an eyebrow and some healthy questions. I think that's how his stories were always meant to work. As if to say, that maybe, just maybe, more truth and clarification comes in the following after, in close proximity to him, rather than in some closed door, stagnant dissection of this or that.

So, the most obvious one, I think, is that like some churches, especially the big ones, there’s so much available that I suppose it’s natural to wander and forget why I came here in the first place. I guess the masses, by way of supply and demand have decided what’s best for me and for you, so we can have the finest possible selection at our disposal. Actually, there are so many choices that I get lost in it all, and confused; and then I’m not even sure what I want. Or need. Am I hungry or thirsty or both? Or neither?

I might just choose to pass on the whole thing.

Churches and modern gas stations alike stock their goods and their programs to sell, to keep their profits high -- to keep us happy, so we’ll not only get fueled up, but we’ll stop shopping around for a better place. Maybe we'll even get so caught up in the shopping that we'll forget our ride is outside, tanked up and ready to go.

We stop in the salty snack aisle and he’s holding a package of corn nuts now, reading the ingredients. He’s smiling and somehow I have a feeling this will show up again in his little word picture.

We walk around some more, and the epiphanies keep coming.

I suppose, if you go to enough gas stations, or churches for that matter, you’ll find that they actually have more in common than not. Sure, they might offer something a little different here; perhaps something unique there, but we're deceived into thinking that one is better than the other. Maybe this one has a Subway attached, or maybe the price of gas is a little lower; but then again, the neighborhood isn’t so good, or it’s simply too far away, so we pay a little more and we rationalize because of the quality of the fuel. And so it is with the excellence of worship. The superb teaching. The likeness to our living standard and the likelihood we'll be near our like minded and like colored neighbors. So our kids can play together and go to school together, and of course, church together.

He hasn’t said anything at all yet, but he smiles from time to time and so I wonder if he’s listening to my inner voice, my attempts to understand him and his latest story. But then he begins:

Do I still want you to come here, Jeff?

Yes. Well, at least that’s what he said outside.

Absolutely. I want you here. As I said, I’ve designed you in such a way that you need to stop often and regularly, to feast upon my truth and to worship me.

Wouldn't have it any other way, I say, somewhat confidently, even though I haven't wanted to stop at all lately.

But these “stations” were originally intended for you to keep going; there wasn't much of a reason for you to stay inside. At least not for long.

But, now there is, I think. Plenty.

You’ve all become great consumers. Yet in the consuming, you’re just hanging around. You study the Bible, yes, but you assume that I have nothing left to say. And so you bicker about what I have said to fit your situation, never realizing that I might clarify it for you out here, where this church of the open road meets. You have a full tank of gas, but you're unwilling to use it, and even when you do, you won't venture out very far.

Hmmm.

You just have to follow me, wherever I lead, which is what I’ve asked you to do from the beginning.

He's talking to me, pretty loudly now over the top of a display. Somehow he kept going and I stopped, distracted as usual, the irony of it all not lost on me for a moment.

He holds up that bag of corn nuts again.

And if you stay and just hang around, pretty soon you'll start arguing over things that don't matter, like whether corn nuts actually have nuts in them, and if not, why are they called corn nuts? You can't even decide what it is you're eating! And all the while, people are going hungry.

Ouch.

This is not rocket science, Jeff. But you've done your best to make it so.

He’s right, you know, this Jesus of my imagination. The point he’s making is that church is not supposed to be about buildings and budgets and butts in seats. It's not about us walking up and down the aisles as consumers, trying to decide what's best for us from what’s available, as chosen by the masses, through supply and demand.

I think we have a better way to find out what church is. And what it’s not.

And as far as the bigger and the better and the luring of the collective us to this one or that, well, gas stations might find success that way, but this Body we’ve become just isn’t very good or efficient when we’re divided. We’re not designed for competition, but that’s really what has happened. We've become separated over aisles of preference, taste, flavor and tolerance. So we amp it up to stay ahead; we become more savvy and more convenient and we sometimes even compromise to keep people coming, when, in fact, we simply need mission in unity and unity in mission.

We need to discover what's common among us instead of what denominationally divides us.

We join up again, near the end of the aisles, Jesus and me. He must have caught those voices in my head again because he says:

You shouldn’t try to distinguish yourselves from other churches for your own sake, but look to serve with other churches for my sake. And Jeff, don't get me wrong -- as you ride out into ever expanding circles, you will always need churches to rise up, for those you find in the shadows and the hidden spaces on my behalf will need to be fed and refreshed and comforted. They'll crave community, just like you do. But don’t stop there. Keep riding. Keep pushing borders deep into the margins, for this is how my Kingdom will be inaugurated.

And then he said something, which I've heard my buddy Joe say before. It’s pretty cool coming from Jesus, though, who I suppose is the ultimate source of all relevant statements:

Are you building a bigger church or churching a bigger area?

That time it hit home.

And so, we're done inside. This Savior pays for his gas to ensure he can keep riding. I follow him outside, get on the back and off we go, outward as this church of the open road. I'll have more questions, and I'm sure you will too. But perhaps if we'll just agree to follow him, he’ll reveal a few more things about this Bride we're supposed to be.

And we'll be well on our way toward forming the perfect union.

13 "Quit your worship charades. I can't stand your trivial religious games: Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings - meetings, meetings, meetings - I can't stand one more! 14 Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them! You've worn me out! I'm sick of your religion, religion, religion, while you go right on sinning. 15 When you put on your next prayer-performance, I'll be looking the other way. No matter how long or loud or often you pray, I'll not be listening. And do you know why? Because you've been tearing people to pieces, and your hands are bloody.

16 Go home and wash up. Clean up your act. Sweep your lives clean of your evildoings so I don't have to look at them any longer. Say no to wrong. 17 Learn to do good. Work for justice. Help the down-and-out. Stand up for the homeless. Go to bat for the defenseless. Let's Argue This Out (Isaiah 1:13-17, The Message)