Which Church?

And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? 2 Corinthians 11:28-29 Any idea how many "churches" meet in your building each Sunday? There can be quite a collection of groups with different expectations and needs, and rare is the preacher who doesn't at least occasionally feel the pressure of trying to feed all of them with the same fodder. Happily, HSS is a great sauce for both milk and meat. HSS? Holy Spirit Sauce, of course! Don't get your sermon without your HSS, or it will be dry and tasteless and it'll spoil before you know it! It's a good thing you can bring it with you anywhere, because you don't always find it when you get there, do you? Anyway, there are always at least three groups in every meeting I can recall. There are shades and variations, and some folks belong to more than one, but I think you'll find yourself in one of these on any given Sunday. If I missed you, let me know, because I also care for "all the churches", especially those meeting with me! First off, there's the First Church of the Devoted. They come early and stay late. They notice who's missing, they encourage their pastor and one another. They are intensely interested in the success of the ministry, so they bring their all to the altar. They are the heirs of the Twelve, always in on the action, and though they are Leaders in the congregation, they are also the most fully Led. And they are generally outnumbered by our second group, the Distracted: "What's that she's wearing? Can you stand that cologne? Wonder what's for lunch? What's going on now?" Teens and toddlers. Moms and Dads. Grands and their treasures. Widows and the never-wed. Honestly, most of us can fit in this group from time to time, thinking about any- and every-thing except what we should be, but a good many people never leave it. Like the multitudes around Jesus, they are mostly there to see and be seen and usually missing or misunderstanding what's going on, the Fussing and the Fussed At. But the ones that break our hearts, that are the main focus of most of our prayers and preparations are the members of the Last Chance Church of the Desperate - the sick, the lonely, the broken, the needy, the Dying and the Dead, hoping for relief even against their expectations. Will they find it? Can they be led to it? It IS God's will, and our hope! And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:17 Devoted, Distracted, or Desperate, the Saviour is calling us all. Come take your place in His church, and meet with the One who makes the difference for me.