Church: Connecting with God and People

One of my heroes of the Christian faith, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Christian theologian who died in a Nazi concentration camp in World War II for attempting to jam a spoke in the wheel of Hitler’s regime, once observed: “Absolute seriousness is never without a dash of humor.”  Despite living through very serious times, Bonhoeffer never lost his faith in God or, apparently, his sense of humor.  Though Bonhoeffer was not especially known for his humor, I can imagine that both elements – faith and humor – were necessary to persevere under the extreme duress of Nazi Germany.

In life, I believe that we often take ourselves too seriously and God not serious enough. That is, we are often serious about the wrong things! The same goes for leadership in the church: we often take ourselves too seriously and God not serious enough.  We often make church more complicated than it needs to be. That’s why I’ve been preaching through the “Pillars of Ministry” to remind us of the beautiful simplicity of being a church family: Gospel, Prayer, Servant Leadership, Discipleship, Community, Mission, and God’s Word.

In the end, being the church is fairly straightforward and simple.  Sure, TWC has a finance team, a personnel committee, and a team to fold the bulletins. Yet, let us not forget that every time we step into “the church” (building), we are called to connect with God and/or connect with people – for the health of our church and for the joy of all of our lives.

It’s such a privilege to be your pastor.

Grateful to be with you on this journey of discipleship,
Pastor Jason

P.S. And, hopefully, we all find a dash of humor in following Jesus together from time to time!