What It Is, And What It's Not

I like to say it a lot.

"Church is not a building.  It's people."

People who are moving together, as under the direction of an unseen hand, with a shared heart.

A symphony of sorts.  Each playing their part.  Not seeking individual attention, or even reward, but trusting that this unseen hand will bring all of the parts together.

And somehow, in voice and in action, there will be a harmony.

A few weeks ago I received a call from someone who had run short.  Another came from someone who felt they had extra.  So, when I entered our gathering place...when I entered the sanctuary, I went to the first and told her that help was on the way.  

She smiled and showed me an envelope that held that "extra".

"It's already here," she said.

Later, someone stepped towards me and whispered in my ear that another really needed someone to pray for them.  

"O.K." I said.  

When I went to find that individual, to pray with them, I couldn't find them.  

It turned out that they had already gone home.  

So, I found the voice that whispered to me and said, "I'm sorry, I missed them and they're gone.  I'll call and make an appointment this week to meet up."

"No problem," they said, and named two others who had come around the person in need and brought them hope and help.

At the very end of our gathering time, we joined together for a moment of reaching towards heaven.  There were at least a dozen voices that called out, maybe closer to twenty.

I wept for the sense of His closeness to us.

For the freedom we were feeling at His feet.

For the warmth I felt in knowing the faces and names of all whose prayers I heard.

I knew them by their voice.

It was harmony.

It was symphony.

It was church.