My family traveled to Columbus to visit with some people at the church we will be moving to in June. The Epworth United Methodist Church seems like an exciting place, but right as our visit began, an unwelcome excitement emerged.
Just as we came into town, the temperature gauge began to creep up on our van. Now our van has a lot of miles, but has given us good service through the years. I patiently watched the gauge as it slowly moved up, up, up. It would move up a little outside the normal range, and then come back down. The next time, it would go up just a bit more. This cycle repeated several times before I even mentioned anything to my wife. Eventually, the "peaks" of this little cycle began to get very near the red line and the "valleys" began to be nonexistent. We finally made it to the restaurant where we were having dinner with the current pastor and his family. I shared with them what was going on. Then, the funniest thing happened.
People acted like Jesus. Together, Scott Hagan (the current pastor) and another church member helped me out as we got some coolant for the van and filled it up hoping that would help get us through. Before the night was done, however, we realized the leak was serious. We nursed the van to the church parsonage where it would sit... and bleed... the remainder of the night. The pastor loaned us their SUV which we drove to the hotel.
There, in the hotel, I began to let some good, old-fashioned despair and "woe-is-me" thinking take over. I didn't come to Columbus to be a burden on anyone. I had just come to check out our new church, meet some folks, and take a directory picture. To top it all off, within the last week, I had a member of my current church trying to get me to buy a new car! I lay in bed as the night wore on a bit thinking, "is this a sign?"--"Can it get any worse?" I texted Scott and thanked him for his hospitality and apologized a bit for the inconvenience. That is when he sent me a text that changed my weekend and produced the crux of my sermon for Sunday. The note said simply this:
"You are loved here."
I'll admit that tears welled up as I read that message. Moving is stressful. There are lots of things that tug on your time and attention. You want to end well and start well. You want to keep your head in the game where you are currently serving even as you begin to try to figure out what is coming in the new place. There is the real stress of discovering your new neighborhood, working out plans for schools, jobs for spouses, and meeting so many new people--it can be overwhelming. Sometimes, one more "extra" can be the infamous straw that breaks the camel's back. I knew that the car repair might not even be expensive, but I was concerned about getting it done and getting home to Alma for church on Sunday. I love Alma and all the folks here. Leaving here will be very hard. I didn't want anything to cause us to miss one of our last worship services together.
Scott had told me we were loved at Epworth, and then he and others proved it. Scott got up early and fetched another gallon of coolant to nurse the van on toward the church. A very kind and generous member of Epworth then gave up several hours of his Saturday afternoon to repair my van at a steep discount (probably parts only - yes, it was the radiator). He did that while my family was being shown around town by another couple who were also extremely kind. Not only was I TOLD we were loved, but that love was put into ACTION. There were more kind acts over the weekend--too many to name.
So I can hear what you are thinking... "but you are the new pastor and you got special treatment." To some extent that is likely true. But, I kind of think from what I learned about these people this weekend that the same courtesy would have been extended to others. And if it's NOT that way, then it should be.
When folks are among the people of God, they should know that they are loved here.
Bishop James King, Jr., our South Georgia Conference bishop, is often known to say that our churches should be "love stations." He has invited and encouraged all of us to be in small groups that meet often which he calls CLU (Christlike Love Unit) groups. Indeed, our churches should be about love. The Bible says God IS love. The Bible says the world will know we are Christians by our love. When compared with other spiritual qualities, love is the greatest of them. It is the first in the list of spiritual fruit. Love is mighty important to God and it is clear that it is important to God's people.
My whole family has surely felt and been loved in Alma. I know others have been loved in word and action by our churches here. So, if anything made it beyond the benediction Sunday, I hope it is that church folks in all places be reminded and realize that when others interact with the church of Jesus Christ, they should know by our words and our actions that they are loved here.
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