This morning, during my prayer time, I had a vision. (Now, I must admit, usually when I hear people say that they received a vision, I’m honestly a little bit jealous. I’ve read in Scripture where Jeremiah had visions, as did Elijah, Isaiah, and let’s not forget ol’ Ezekiel! The apostle Paul had several visions, especially during his time of conversion. Notice the irony here? Paul, who had been struck blind could finally see what God had been wanting to show him about God’s Church all along! Sometimes we need to become blind in order to actually see!) Visions throughout Scripture have been a big part of our development as a people of faith. They give us brief glimpses beyond this realm into the eternal.
Back to my
vision. I was in the state of waiting for God to speak. What I wasn’t expecting
was to “hear” a word from the Lord through my mind’s eyes. But in a vision clear,
I saw a church building – an old, whitewashed, wooden church building with a
steeple and a church bell – crumbling and falling to the ground in a heap.
Honestly, it
disturbed me greatly. I don’t ever like to see churches collapse like this. I
tried to understand what was happening. Was it an earthquake? A flood? A
hurricane? No, it was none of these things. The building wasn’t even in all that
bad of shape. It looked as though it had been well-cared-for. But there it was –
falling apart into a huge pile of debris and dust.
I really didn’t
know what to make of it. It wasn’t a church that I recognized, except that it
looked like every other old country backroads church that I had seen in my
growing up years. I couldn’t see the name of the church, nor what denominational
flavor it was. I only saw it crumbling to the ground.
But like all
visions I’d ever read about, there was more: the vision wasn’t done yet. Out of
the pile of rubble, I saw people pouring out. And the were going in all
different directions from the center of what used to be the church structure.
Some had tools in their hands, as though they were getting ready to rebuild the
collapsed building. Others seemed to have clipboards in their hands, as though
they were going to take notes. Still others had their bibles or hymnals in hand.
But what looked like hundreds – maybe more – of people began to pour out of this
fallen structure.
I noticed that
they weren’t upset, distraught, or mournful at the sight of the destruction.
Rather, they began to share with one another what the Church is supposed to be
about – it’s core value and purpose. They acknowledged the devastation, but
they did not dwell on it. Instead, they began to talk about the Church in
general, telling it’s story from the very beginning.
Then it dawned on
me. This wasn’t an “act of God” in the insurance-claim sense of the word. But
it was an act of God nonetheless. What was falling apart and collapsing was our
own creation – an institution that was built for the purposes of preserving itself.
All the attention of the congregation had been so focused on the maintenance of
the institution (represented by the old church building itself) that it had
become distracted from the real purpose of the Church, which is to proclaim a
crucified and risen Christ. What was pouring out of the pile of rubble was the
true Church – God’s people, faithfully fulfilling Jesus’ command to make
disciples, not build buildings. To invite people into a relationship with the
living God in Jesus Christ, not establish an organization designed to preserve
itself.
Like I said, I’m
rather new at this vision thing. But somehow, I think God is inviting me to
rethink how we’ve “always done church” and to come up with a new understanding.
It isn’t about organization and institution. It’s more organic. It’s
relational. Just like God’s love for us.
Make of this what you will. But I’ve
got some prayerful pondering to do.
See you in Church! (and not just in
the building!)
