A Dilemma. A Paradox. A Decision.

I had a dilemma, but I've made a decision. Here's my story and my beef...

If you know me or read several posts back, you know that missions is near and dear to my heart. I'm involved in Women on Mission, the women's missions organization at church (sad to say the youngest one left in it). The ladies are trying to get more involvement from the church, especially the younger ones, and so the first meeting is going to be an evening meeting with dinner and childcare and a fabulous speaker who serves in Indonesia. I was thrilled to promote it and get all my friends to come with me... until I noticed that they scheduled it on the same night as National Night Out!

Now, I know that not everyone has a block party in their neighborhood, and I know that not everyone wants to even get to know their neighbors. I also know that some church-going Christians wouldn't know why it might be a problem to have this missions event on the same night as NNO, because, of course, you should be at church learning about God - not out partying it up with non-Christians. But I don't think that way... and our neighborhood does have a block party... and we try to go every year to meet neighbors and just be friendly.

I had to figure out which big event our family should attend.

As I've said in a few different posts, over the last several years God has been shifting me. Among other things, He has shown me that I need to be less busy at church and be more busy being the church. My time used to be always taken up by church activities, church meetings, church worship services and church Bible studies, church parties and church friends - and I was living life inside a bubble - never really getting to know people outside the church. These days I still spend plenty of hours on church things (maybe still too much) but I'm out in the rest of the world a lot more. This shift has been freeing and fulfilling! My relationship with God has grown as my life has been enriched by all kinds of activities and lovely people - outside my church!

So, naturally, going with the way God is shifting me, I should choose to go to NNO, right?

BUT this speaker is going to be so great! I've heard her before and I was so encouraged by her stories and inspired by her message about loving the world's least and forgotten. I know if we went to the missions night, we'd be moved to action somehow, and the greater good would be served. Plus, if I don't go, how can I encourage my friends to go, and thus encourage more participation in the missions organizations at church?!

But then, there's this crazy paradox... and here lies my beef:
Inside the church we talk, preach and pray about missions being THE Purpose of the church. We have sermons, conferences, campaigns, studies, and meetings - all about MISSIONS. Sharing the Love and Message of Jesus with others, from our front doors to the ends of the earth, is what the Church is called to do! But I'm so stinking tired of talking it up so big, when we're not encouraging it in practice near enough! In this culture of church that we have made for ourselves, we don't allow for it! We encourage our church members to become so active IN the church activities and programs, that we don't give them a chance to go out and BE the church! Church actually prevents us from doing what we are called by God to do! It's obviously NOT RIGHT!

How can we hold a church-wide Missions night on the very night we should be encouraging every church member to get outside their homes and build some relationships with their neighbors at this nation-wide event?! I'm not talking about going to our block parties to "win people" or "get them saved" or "convert them" or even getting them to come to church... I'm talking about doing what our Teacher did... building relationships... loving and caring about people who live near us. Our neighbors are people we could help out if we knew their needs. They are people we could pray for if we knew they were sick or grieving or struggling. They are people who could enrich our lives with their personalities, gifts and talents, as we enrich theirs with ours. Some of these neighbors are Christians who would love community with fellow believers, some attend churches but are disconnected even so, some have never known a follower of Christ who showed them love. We've got to be about loving on people as we go, where we live and work and play. And if that's always at church, then Christians are just a huge clique, aren't we?!

So, I know you can guess that I've decided to go to NNO. I even contacted our neighborhood coordinators and our family will be helping make and pass out fliers, and we're going to have it out in front of our house this year - a better, more centralized location, so more folks will come. I had no idea, but the coordinators were thrilled to have the help. I never thought I'd say it, but I'm truly happy to say that I'll be skipping Missions Night at the church!