03.23.07

Free Parking?

Posted in Reading, Mission at 3:09 pm by Anthony

I was looking this week for something catchy to put up on our church sign and I came across a saying that several churches have used in their parking lots — a sign that says:

Church Parking Only — Violators Will Be Baptized

I guess that would keep a lot of people away.  I was reminded of this when I read the piece below in Leadership magazine.  It’s written by Mark Buchanan from British Columbia.  He talks about how, in Mark 2, people who really needed Jesus couldn’t get to him because of the crowd who was gathered around him had shut them out.  Could that crowd be the church who, in listening to Jesus, often ignores the needs of those who need to get to him the most?

I’m new to Albany and I look forward to witnessing my first Fandangle.  This story may also help us reflect on how we can minister to our community and the many visitors who will be coming down our street.

Here’s the story — think about it.

Years ago I was invited to speak at a small church in a semi-rural lakeside community.  I arrived a half-hour before the service, and the building was still locked.  So I drove down the town’s main drag, which the church was on.  There, between the main street and the lake, were thousands of people gathered for a community-sponsored half-marathon.  A local band was already playing on a flatbed.  Coffee kiosks were doing a booming business.  Runners were stetching, limbering up.  The local radio station was giving live color commentary.

It was a festival.

I drove back to the church and found the building open.  A church deacon met me at the door, took me to a small office and, before we prayed, told me how upset he was: on Friday, the church’s parking lot had been freshly paved.  On Saturday, someone (”probably one of those people here for the marathon”) had driven an RV into the lot.  Turning it around, they’d creased the soft asphalt.

The deacons had called an emergency meeting for Sunday night, and the outcome would likely be that they’d use the church’s savings (they had over $50,000 in the bank) to hang a chain across the entrance of the church parking lot and prevent any further damage.

I decided, there and then, to preach Mark 2.  I stood up, read the text, and asked, “What roof tiles do you need to break?  What are you willing to suffer the loss of for the sake of reaching the thousands of people right outside your door?”

The parishioners sat unmoving, unmoved.

It was a dirge.

I’ve never seen a congregation clear out more quickly.  I don’t think it was to join the festival outside.

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