Church

It is a word that we use all the time, isn’t it? “I’m going to church.”  “What time does the church service begin?”  “My children go to school at the Methodist church.” It seems, in so many ways, like such a pedestrian word, used and re-used over and over again. It does not seem like a very powerful word most of the time. And yet the events of this week have reminded me again that there is nothing pedestrian about the church of Jesus Christ.

On Monday night of General Conference we heard a children’s choir from Africa. The choir was composed entirely of orphaned or neglected children who go to a school that was founded by the United Methodist Church. To my dying day I will not forget the child whose voice broke into sobs of joy when he said, “My grandmother brought me to this school, and it saved my life.” These were, in fact, the most joyful children I have ever seen, and they reminded me of the power of the church.

The committee meetings that I attend are translated into Portuguese, French, and Swahili. Even more languages are represented in other committees. It is a constant reminder of the fact that the church is universal, that the lives of people are being transformed around the world. There are people here who will testify to the fact that the church is the most powerful and dominant influence in their village. They will tell how the church’s clinic saved their life or how the church’s nets protect their children at night or how the church’s school has given them a future with hope.

Jesus said to Peter, “You are the rock, and upon this rock I will build my church.” Before the week is over there will probably be great publicity about the ways in which our church is in disagreement over one issue or another. There will be speculation about the cracks in the church. But for those who have been here there is the constant reminder of the power of the church, and of the strong foundation upon which it is built.

Church. It is a word that we sometimes speak too casually. It is an institution that we sometimes take for granted. It is the incarnation of a Hope for our world that can never be replaced.

Don Underwood

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