Until Next Time: The Church That Brings Us Back Together

Rereading Romans 12 it occurred to me… well, let me start with a benediction…             

The late Rev. Richard C. Halverson, former Chaplain of the U.S. Senate always closed his prayers with these words:

“Wherever you go, God is sending you,

wherever you are, God has put you there;

He has a purpose in your being there.

Christ who indwells you has something He wants to do through you where you are.

Believe this and go in His grace and love and power. “                                                                           

Of this I have no doubt, we are here for a reason.  Look around you at the people gathered with you in worship, at work, or in mission, each one is a unique group, never before has this exact group been together … and it never will be again.   Believe me, in my 40+ years of ministry in various settings, they have all been different, different people, different challenges, different events, and yet they have all been the Church at work in the world.  Each one so unique and yet so many of the same miraculous things happened year after year,… but usually to different people.  This is the movement of the Holy Spirit in the work of the church; it is you, it is me, it is all of us, and yet it is so much more.

Look again at the people around you, this cannot be coincidence, neither could this happen because any one of us have planned it… there are always those missing whom you had hoped would be there, and likely there are those there you hoped would not be.  And yet there we are, it must be providence, the will of God, there is no doubt in my mind… and as I said, we are gathered for a reason.  Each time we gather, God has some great task for us to accomplish and something to accomplish in us.  So, when we gather we must discern the will of God, what is good and acceptable and sometimes even perfect.

For 41 years I have been involved in youth ministry, in January, it was 38 years since my ordination as a ruling elder.  In July I celebrate the 30th Anniversary of (what I like to say is) my “demotion to Minister of Word and Sacrament.”   My being here at all is some-what miraculous, or at the very least providential.  At a time in my life that was often very dark and when the decisions I was making were difficult and dangerous, when I felt alone and out of place, and completely without value; through no effort of my own, God brought me into the midst of people that would lead me into ministry. 

It was in the midst of the people of God that my eyes were opened to a whole new world, where I could really be myself and discover who I was meant to be.  That’s what is so special about the church, it is safe place where people can finally let their guard down, and peek behind the mask to see who we really are... or at least it should be. 

Within the life of the Church, I learned what it means to love and be loved, and form relationships that can last a lifetime and can create a fellowship that seems to come and go, but always brings us back together.  

Within the life of the Church, I learned what it means to love and be loved, and form relationships that can last a lifetime and can create a fellowship that seems to come and go, but always brings us back together.  

The Church should not be a community where something just happens to us for an hour and goes away, it should stick with us and we should carry it with us through life and at least in our hearts, it brings us back together over and over again, especially when we are blessed with the opportunities the church provides for old friends, acquaintances, and strangers with shared experiences to get together and enjoy the moments of the joy we previously shared.

When I moved from my first call in West Virginia to my second call in Maryland, I was in the office the Friday before my first Sunday in the pulpit and the phone rang.  The voice on the other end was a person I did not know.  They simply asked, “Is this the church where Mitch Miller is the pastor?”   “yes”  “what time is your service on Sunday?” “11:00”  “Ok thank you.” click.

Sunday morning, I’m a little nervous, the church is pretty full, and at exactly 10:59am, what do I see appearing at the door of the sanctuary?  Seven old friends from Pennsylvania with whom I had attended a youth conferences, or been on a mission trip, or simply knew from working with their mother on a synod committee.

One had moved to Maryland a few years before, and when his mother in Philly heard I was moving to Maryland, she called her son.  The rest them happened to be visiting him that weekend, so they showed up for church.

It had been nearly 10 years since I had seen them, but it seemed like only a day.  That reconnection led to one becoming an elder in the church, and for an invitation back into a number of leadership roles. 

I had always said at the end of youth events, “we don’t say goodbye, but just until next time. Because when we stay involved in the church, we end up back together again.”  And so it was.

When the people of God have gathered with open hearts, I have witnessed miracles and transformations, healing and reconciliation, prophesy and power, in ways that most of the people sitting in their church pews have sadly, never experienced nor could even imagine.  There I have seen glimpses of heaven, and of what it really means to be a community in Christ.                        

There I have seen glimpses of heaven, and of what it really means to be a community in Christ.                           

Many people will come into our midst when set about the life and work of the church, not knowing what to expect.   Oh, they may have heard good things (at least we hope), but trust me, it can, and should be, so much more.   

Some understand the sense community felt by being in a place where we “belong”, no matter who we are, where we come from, what we look like, or what our lives have been like; yet many do not. 

It’s easy to feel alone in the world, to be a little lost, a little outside what ever the world calls “normal.”   We live in a world that constantly pushes us to “fit in” in one way or another, to be defined as part of this group or that group or as the rebel on the outside.  And once we are placed there we are expected to act accordingly, to fulfill our role and stay within the prescribed parameters of the group.  You might just as well, since the world has already decided that you must be just like everyone else in the group. 

Let’s be honest, we all come together with our prejudices, we all make assumptions about the people we meet.  Sadly, we bring those with us even into the church… and yet it doesn’t have to be this way. In the Church, we should find it easier to somehow show who we really are.  We ought to be able to take off the masks we wear out in the world beyond the fellowship of the Church.  To be something different than what we and the world expect us to be and to begin to see that it is possible to see others and ourselves differently.  That is why I have always said, that within the church we get a glimpse of the “real” world, and out there lies the “other” world, the “false world” where we try to hide the truth about everything from each other, and ourselves.               

Yes, too often we fail, but I say to you, the Church must be something different.  Within the Church, whether at worship or at work, by the mercies of God we must not be conformed to the world, we must be transformed into something much greater and more magnificent in a way that even most “life-long” members have not experienced.  The Church we must discern and become a true “community in Christ.” 

We cannot just sit back and let it happen, we must pursue it, work for it, yearn for it.  That is why we are here or there, sent or called back, because God has a purpose for our being.

So forget all the reasons you had, set aside all your assumptions and all your expectations and truly present yourselves as living sacrifices, as people willing to be set aside for some special purpose.  And offer yourself to God in Jesus Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to move you to make the church and everyone of us holy and acceptable to God.   

Your Servant in Christ,

Mitch Miller