hospitable
One word I'd love to change out of our churchisms is "layperson", which is defined as a "nonordained member of a church, or a person without professional or specialized knowledge in a particular subject."
Emphasis on the "priesthood" of believers has slowly declined. Makes sense right? As areas of expertise become increasingly specialized, society has come to expect the professionals to provide the necessary services or insight for maximum results. But here's yet another paradox of culture and scripture.
When God spoke on Mount Sinai to a people who had lost their sense of humanity through hundreds of years of enslavement in Egypt, He began the process of teaching His people what it meant to be human again. In Exodus 19, God proclaims, "Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."
A priest mediates the divine. To mediate is to come between. A priest comes between people and God. A priest shows you what his/her God is like. So when you went to the temple back in the day, or witness a pastor today perform certain rituals or act and speak in a certain way, you get a sense of what their God cares about.
Read through the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. As you read it, ask yourself "who's the real priest here?"
So when God invites his people to be priests, it's an invitation to show the world who this God is and what this God is like. That's not just the job of pastors and other professional Christians, it's the job of everyone.
Following this, I think a great indicator for solid development in churches is the percentage of those who volunteer in some capacity.
ALL this to say that I had a night out with our hospitality volunteers at Union Station. We've got 25 incredible people who give of their time to serve and give. Loved laughing and sharing stories. Loved hearing about their lives.
We're all priests in God's economy.
Emphasis on the "priesthood" of believers has slowly declined. Makes sense right? As areas of expertise become increasingly specialized, society has come to expect the professionals to provide the necessary services or insight for maximum results. But here's yet another paradox of culture and scripture.
When God spoke on Mount Sinai to a people who had lost their sense of humanity through hundreds of years of enslavement in Egypt, He began the process of teaching His people what it meant to be human again. In Exodus 19, God proclaims, "Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."
A priest mediates the divine. To mediate is to come between. A priest comes between people and God. A priest shows you what his/her God is like. So when you went to the temple back in the day, or witness a pastor today perform certain rituals or act and speak in a certain way, you get a sense of what their God cares about.
Read through the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. As you read it, ask yourself "who's the real priest here?"
So when God invites his people to be priests, it's an invitation to show the world who this God is and what this God is like. That's not just the job of pastors and other professional Christians, it's the job of everyone.
Following this, I think a great indicator for solid development in churches is the percentage of those who volunteer in some capacity.
ALL this to say that I had a night out with our hospitality volunteers at Union Station. We've got 25 incredible people who give of their time to serve and give. Loved laughing and sharing stories. Loved hearing about their lives.
We're all priests in God's economy.
posted by dcschmiddy at 10:32 AM
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