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Having a building is a blessing, most of the time. It's given us the ability to host City Connexx teams and other groups. It gives us a talking point as we interact with neighbors. It gives us something tangible in the very intangible world of church planting. It also gives us some concrete goals of what to aim for, and something physical for people to see. We are very grateful for our building...
Most of the time. The down side to having a building is that there are so many things that can go wrong or need to be done. The building wasn't well maintained, so there is a vast amount to work on.
Today I found a dead bird in the kitchen. We also had the plumber come out who discovered that the toilet that has had "out of order" taped to the door since before our arrival, had a kitchen sink tube and shut off valve, instead of a toilet one (this could've ended with some serious flooding issues that would have cost a lot more than the little bit for the plumber). I'm learning daily the importance of doing things well and taking pride in your work.
I know it's silly, and it seems so small, but I think care and thoughtfulness in how you maintain a building really rolls over into how you do a lot of things. I heard someone say once that you can tell a lot if someone litters, because it probably means they don't care about a lot of things in their life. It's a small lesson that's important to remember. You don't need the best or the greatest things, but you should definitely offer people your best.
Hospitality is an interesting thing that way. You don't need to have silver and china to have a welcoming home, but you do need to offer the best of yourself. It makes people feel valued, it shows value.
Jay Height, the pastor at Shepherd Community in Indianapolis said, they don't offer things for free there. They learned early on that when they offered free day camp during the summer, no one wanted to come, because they thought it must not bee any good to be free. Our hospitality is much the same way, it must cost us something. That something may be the time to clean up our house, the use of our dishes, the cost of a cup of coffee, but people ultimately feel valued when we give them something that costs of us. Sometimes that's as simple as our time.
These are things I'm learning more and more. God desires of us much the same. We often seek the easy road, when the things of life that matter cost us. Planting this church, meeting neighbors, hosting group after group of teens, while fun a lot of times, is exhausting and financially draining, but it is so worth it. We are confident that God is and is going to continue to do great things. We are confident that lives are already being transformed. As the building is renewed and restored, it is our prayer, that hearts and lives are as well.
On a more depressing note, I have a few pictures from the storm damage at the church.
