Have You Licked The Floor Lately?

.... if you have, it might have tasted like butter....

Hello Church,

For those of you who haven't been caught up, Emmanuel had a minor tragedy in the kitchen.  The fridge broke and melted a whole bunch of butter which spilled across the floor.  The troops rallied, however, and everything is cleaned up and a new fridge has been purchased.

Which leads me to this week's consideration:

It takes people to be a church

I know.  I know.  This isn't a grand epiphany, but one that I want to voice.  The church just doesn't accidentally exist and continue to exist.  The church doesn't exist just because Jesus rose from the dead.  The church doesn't exist because there is a pastor employed.  The church doesn't exist just because there is a building in which to meet. 

The church exists because there are people who have the Faith, love the Lord, and care about one another.

I invite you into another Lenten lesson:  do you take for granted that Emmanuel will always be?

Emmanuel will not always be.  It will cease to exist when people stop putting their Faith and love into it.  Many a church people have made the mistake of assuming their little church on the corner will always be there.  Yet doors close for good every year and then people wonder why.  It starts with making reckless assumptions.

How are you embracing the Faith and putting love into the church?  Many thanks go to those who made a vast effort yesterday to clean up the kitchen, but please consider the motivation behind the time and energy that it took them.  We need to remember it takes real effort to make the church go, from everything from a preached sermon to a functional fridge.  And it takes more than 5 or 10 or even 20 people.  Emmanuel needs everyone to embrace the Faith and put love into the church.  This is what creates effective ministry and how love expands out from the people of the church and into the community at large.

Embrace the Faith and put your love into the church. 

God is Good,
Pastor Joe