Beyond the Doors

I remember as a kid being at a church building somewhere that had a sign above door to the auditorium that read something like, "Enter to worship, leave to serve." Without getting into a philosophical conversation about service actually being a form of worship, I actually like the statement's sentiment. I like it because it recognizes that life as a Christian is more than what we do on Sunday; it assumes that our Christianity extends beyond the doors of our buildings; it also implies that much of what we do on Sunday should prepare us to be the hands and feet of Jesus the rest of the week.

Today I drove to the office thinking mostly about getting enough work done so VJ and I can enjoy a couple of days away for Thanksgiving. I was busy working and took a break, walking into the foyer. As I looked across the parking lot I noticed that the Red Cross folks were setting up for the blood drive we host every 8 weeks. About that time one of the 22 families our church is helping with food for Thanksgiving came it to pick up a gift card and a turkey. As he was leaving he walked past a grocery cart overflowing with food donations our church members brought Sunday. Brice stopped by before they headed out of town, and we talked a little about the special contribution we'll take Sunday to help fund our pantry in 2009. Ruth and I talked about getting the Giving Tree tags all ready for our church members who will buy Christmas gifts for several children and families. I then thought about tomorrow being one of our pantry days, with several families coming in for groceries... and I stopped, a warm feeling growing from within, smiled, and gave thanks for the blessing of just noticing.

I know our church can grow in the ways we do ministry... the ways we reach out to others... but I am so glad to be part of a church family, a group of people, who understand at some level that being a Christian goes beyond the doors.