01-22-25

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 22, 2025
The work of the church is extraordinarily serious, and throughout Christianity’s history, the church has been at its best when it has served on the frontlines of real change, brought justice to broken systems, and helped people find real and lasting healing. Nothing has changed, and that is exactly what and who the church is… or at least should be. With that said, the church has also been a place of play and humor, because at the core of what it means to be human is to find joy and laughter because us human beings are funny and we need to laugh at ourselves a little more often.

A few weeks ago, I dressed up in a camel suit for worship because we had to cancel the camel walk the week before. I was pleased to see people laugh, though a ministry colleague wrote me after seeing some pictures and said, “If I had done that in my church, there would have been a meeting called before worship ended for the purpose of firing me.” He was serious, and though I know that everything I attempt to do won’t achieve its intended goal, I appreciate Cypress Creek Christian Church for having a sense of humor, while also providing me space to try things without fear. A few times I’ve walked away saying to myself, “Well, that was a complete failure,” but there wasn’t any anxiety about my future employment. There is a lot of freedom there.

And then yesterday, one of our church members asked about combining a little fundraiser with some fun-raising. He suggested we get at least 25 people to post on the church’s Facebook page images of them playing in the snow. I thought it was a great idea, though I was not absolutely sure if people were going to do it. I should have known better. The CCCC community was immediately all in, and at last count, I think we had close to 75 images (we will show some of them in worship on Sunday). And the fundraising part was that we fun challenged that $200 would be given as seed money for our Week of Compassion Special Day Offering (coming in mid-February) if we got the 25 images. Well done!!

The Apostle Paul spoke of singing and rejoicing. In fact, he said, “Again, I say, ‘Rejoice.’” It’s hard to do much joyful singing if you are a stuck-in-the-mud curmudgeon. Thanks for being a church that is full of life and willing to laugh along the way to doing some really good and life-changing work.

Often the really hard and challenging work is best done with a little humor. It can’t always be that way, but as we look to you, O Amazing and Grace-filled God, we continue to find a reason to rejoice and celebrate the fullness of life. Thank you! Amen.