Musings

2/5/12

Done your homework?

In our service on January 22, I asked that each person who was there make a list of what you think the church expects of you.  The second part of the “homework” assignment was for you to act on those expectations by seeking out ways to contribute your time, talent, and treasures to our church.  If you didn’t make it to church that day, I’d like to give this homework assignment to you right now.  

While it may seem silly to get a homework assignment from church, if you think about it—you actually do get an assignment every Sunday.  It may not be blatantly called homework from the pulpit, but there is at least one assignment every week.  The assignments take on many forms from a reminder to be thankful, a plea for authenticity, a request for peace on earth, or a reminder of how our free church needs your support.  Yes, you get an assignment every week and that’s one of the differences between attending a lecture and going to church—you are asked to do something here.

Most of us want to be better.  Better at something.  Maybe that is one reason we come to church—to be reminded, supported, and coaxed to be better.  Better at treating others, better at being calm, better at pursuing our spiritual journey, or better at things we have never thought about.  Doug Zelinski (CBD Director of Leadership Development) told us that the purpose of religion is to shape social values.   After thinking about that for a long time, I came around to agree with it.  If we come to church to become better at _____(insert here whatever you choose), is that desire to be better only for ourselves?  Or is it because we want to be better and we want the world to be better as well?  

If the purpose of religion is to shape social values, doesn’t that mean that something has to change?  You can’t change a lump of clay into a pot unless you shape it.  What has to change to shape social values?  Well, there are the societal macro aspects of legislation, judicial decisions, and elections.  However, as an individual, you have a part in changing social values by living out our principles and supporting our church and its missions.  How do you do that?  Well, you start by doing your homework

Namaste,
Russ