I’m a church-hopper.

That’s no secret.

I wouldn’t recommend it long-term, but it’s been a great prescription for me.

I’ll tell you why.

I’ve found in every sincere gathering of Jesus-followers, there are people who reveal a little bit more of God to the rest of us.

Some of you reading this post are on chasm’s edge of leaving the church because you’ve experienced people there who are unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, savage, haters of good, betrayers, reckless, arrogant, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying its power. (2 Timothy 3:4)

Before you go, I’d like to share a few little stories with you that will hopefully encourage you.

A couple years ago on September 17, 2014, I was leaving a church I visited when a woman I did not know handed me an envelope.

She said, I drew this picture while I was praying recently. I believe it’s you, and I wrote down everything I heard God say.

I waited until I got in my car to open it.

The picture could be anyone, and the Words were beautiful but only vaguely pertained to me. I was deeply moved she was so brave to give me such a gift, so I wrote the date on it and put it away….

 

 

Exactly one year later, I found the letter again and re-read it. My eyes blurred so teary I could hardly see, because the Words were exactly what I needed to hear in that moment—not a year earlier, but in that moment.

Every Word of it pertained to me, dripping with encouragement straight from Scripture remarkably specific to that season of my life, to that week.

And the picture? Yeah, it could be me….

~

On another Sunday night, I found where the people of Grace were gathered and slipped in among them, trying to be invisible and anonymous.

I was soul-starved, so hungry to feel God’s Presence, I just stood there, waiting…praying.

I was trying to draw near to God, but wasn’t quite sure how, so I waited for Him to draw near to me.

As I waited, just breathing… listening… a woman somewhere nearby in the darkness began to weep, but it was beautiful weeping, like a song. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I felt her sobs in my chest. This woman knew how I felt.

Suddenly, I became aware the weeping woman was praying out loud exactly what I was praying silently. God knows the bruised words He lifted out of her because they were mine, word for word what I had just said to Him in my thoughts.

How do you explain that? You can’t. You can only choose to believe it’s happening.

~

One Wednesday morning my friends came to visit, but I felt distracted, unable to concentrate or offer anything that didn’t sound selfish.

As they sat in my living room, I wondered why on earth they bothered to be my friend at all.

It worried me all day long that I wasn’t a better friend.

That night I drove through black, sideways rain to a church I’d never visited before so again I could be anonymous and just soak up God’s Presence.

You might think I’m a helpless basket case always searching for something, which may be partly true, but without Jesus, we can do nothing. This is the truest true in my life.

At the end of the sermon right before everyone left, the pastor spotted me, a stranger in his church, and asked if he could pray for me.

Yes, please…

As he listened to God, he prayed encouragement over me, lovely, powerful things that God knew I needed to hear. It was so nice, but doubt kept reminding me he could’ve prayed those things for anyone…

Suddenly, his expression changed a little as he hesitated, as if he was slightly embarrassed to say what he’d just heard God say about me…

He took a deep breath, trusting God’s Heart, and said, And God wants you to know, you’re a very, very good friend.

~

One more story and I’ll wrap this up…

One night I joined some Christians who were learning about how God still heals people today.

I wanted to believe that so badly, but I’d heard very little about it.

The teacher explained that sometimes God allows us to hurt exactly where someone near us needs healing. That was hard for my little baptist heart to digest, but suddenly my right inner ear started throbbing with searing pain.

I’d never had an ear ache in my life. It hurt so bad, I could hardly pay attention.

So I decided to risk raising my hand to ask, If that does happen, about how long does it usually last…?

She smiled and asked if it was happening to me.

I told her about my ear, so she asked the room full of people if anyone present had ear pain.

A woman to my left shouted, Henry! You’d better speak up! And everyone turned around, looking past me to an older man sitting a few rows back.

They encouraged me to pray for Henry, so, with nothing to lose, I went to him and asked Jesus to make his ear pain stop.

Instantly, his right ear stopped hurting and so did mine.

The whole room celebrated what God did. They were so happy, yet so used to seeing Him do these things.

I think I could experience that every day of my life and still struggle to believe it happened. It’s unbelievable, but it happened.

 

I do believe! Help me overcome my unbelief!

~ Mark 9:24

 

And here is the reason I’m sharing these things with you. Not to try to prove anything about God; that’s silly and unnecessary.

I’m sharing these things as a backdrop to report one common characteristic I’ve noticed in churches where I’ve come away incurably enthusiastic about the Kingdom of God.

And here it is:

They love each other.

Their prayers for me, their joy, and the things I experienced among them were a trickle-down effect of their genuine love for God, and their closely guarded, sincere love for each other.

The church is a Body, and your church is just one part of it.

Whatever your giftings are, are incomplete without the rest of the Body.

That’s why some faith families cannot understand what goes on in others; they’re only one small part of the bigger picture.

It’s the same as your pinky toe (which is important for balance) accusing the ear of claiming to hear sound.

The ear can hear sound and, surprise! ears also help with balance… but their function is only understood and useful as part of a body.

Until and unless we accept this mystery as it pertains to the Church, we’ll remain divided.

But churches that have already learned the mystery of being part of The Body of Christ, are thriving in love. Everyone within them knows their purpose as part of The Body.

They know their gifts and believe God uses them and loves people through them.

They believe they are loved by God, so they’re free to love each other and anyone else they encounter.

So before you leave church for good, try these three things:

1. Believe God loves you just as you are.

2. Unbury the gifts and talents He’s given you.

3. Use those gifts/talents humbly to help the people around you feel loved by God.

Instead of going to church, you’ll realize a beautiful secret: You are The Church.

 

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The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will people be able to say here it is, or there it is, for the Kingdom of God is already among you.

~ Jesus

{Luke 17:21}