What Do You Mean by that?
This is a parable. It is not about church.
I have often heard people use the expression, “This is my church.” As a pastor, I can’t help but wonder what they mean by that. It doesn’t take must reflection to figure out that there all kind of options.
For some, it means nothing more than, “If I went to church, that is where I would go.” There is a story that has floated around for years about a pastor who was shopping in a department store. As he was talking to a clerk, the subject of church came up in the conversation. When he asked her which church she attended, she named a church and spoke of it in glowing terms. The way she talked, it sounded as if she were a regular attendee. The minister to whom she was speaking had been the pastor of that church for years, but he had never seen her in church one single time. By the expression “my church,” she meant, “The church I would go to, if I went to church.”
Others use the expression “my church” and they actually go. Well, they attend the Christmas and Easter services. On Easter Sunday, Dr. Louis Talbot, the famous pastor of the Church of the Open Door, used to wish his congregation “Merry Christmas,” because, as he explained, he would not see some of them again until Christmas.
Of course, there are those who say, “my church” and attend more than on Christmas and Easter. They may even darken the door once a month, or so.
Then, there are those who call their church, “my church” and don’t just attend periodically; they attend faithfully, but only on Sunday morning. Moreover, that is all they do, just attend.
The ultimate is for someone to say “my church” and mean by that “I faithfully attend. I am involved. I serve. I give—faithfully.”
At the beginning, I said this was a parable. While it is true that it could serve as a sermon, I have in mind something different.
Recently, Patricia and I were counseling with a married couple. During the conversation, they both used the expression “my marriage.” As Patricia and I listened, it became apparent that what she meant by “my marriage” was radically different from what he meant. Conflict was created between them, because each was trying to get the other to conform to their meaning of “marriage.”
I told them that the object of marriage was companionship, not combat and that it was a process of two becoming one (Gen. 2:24). I suggested that they were using the same words, but different dictionaries and I used the expression “my church” to illustrate.” They got it and they are doing well, very well.
May I ask you, “What do you mean by ‘my marriage?’” Perhaps, you and your mate should make sure that both of you are using the same dictionary.
© G. Michael Cocoris, 1/31/2004
I have often heard people use the expression, “This is my church.” As a pastor, I can’t help but wonder what they mean by that. It doesn’t take must reflection to figure out that there all kind of options.
For some, it means nothing more than, “If I went to church, that is where I would go.” There is a story that has floated around for years about a pastor who was shopping in a department store. As he was talking to a clerk, the subject of church came up in the conversation. When he asked her which church she attended, she named a church and spoke of it in glowing terms. The way she talked, it sounded as if she were a regular attendee. The minister to whom she was speaking had been the pastor of that church for years, but he had never seen her in church one single time. By the expression “my church,” she meant, “The church I would go to, if I went to church.”
Others use the expression “my church” and they actually go. Well, they attend the Christmas and Easter services. On Easter Sunday, Dr. Louis Talbot, the famous pastor of the Church of the Open Door, used to wish his congregation “Merry Christmas,” because, as he explained, he would not see some of them again until Christmas.
Of course, there are those who say, “my church” and attend more than on Christmas and Easter. They may even darken the door once a month, or so.
Then, there are those who call their church, “my church” and don’t just attend periodically; they attend faithfully, but only on Sunday morning. Moreover, that is all they do, just attend.
The ultimate is for someone to say “my church” and mean by that “I faithfully attend. I am involved. I serve. I give—faithfully.”
At the beginning, I said this was a parable. While it is true that it could serve as a sermon, I have in mind something different.
Recently, Patricia and I were counseling with a married couple. During the conversation, they both used the expression “my marriage.” As Patricia and I listened, it became apparent that what she meant by “my marriage” was radically different from what he meant. Conflict was created between them, because each was trying to get the other to conform to their meaning of “marriage.”
I told them that the object of marriage was companionship, not combat and that it was a process of two becoming one (Gen. 2:24). I suggested that they were using the same words, but different dictionaries and I used the expression “my church” to illustrate.” They got it and they are doing well, very well.
May I ask you, “What do you mean by ‘my marriage?’” Perhaps, you and your mate should make sure that both of you are using the same dictionary.
© G. Michael Cocoris, 1/31/2004