A Healthy Church Should Always Look Something Like This
Last Sunday, Skylar and Gene chatted in the hallway between services at our church. I took this picture of them without them knowing it. It was Gene’s 90th birthday. Skylar is in her early teens.
Three-quarters of a century separates their ages. Gene has great-grandchildren older than Skylar.
On Monday through Saturday their lives could not look more different. But on Sunday mornings, that distance gets reduced to no wider than the space between their chairs.
Gene can’t always make it to church any more. And when he does, he can’t sit in in the folding chairs we set up in the main room. So, while Skylar and the rest of us sit, stand, clap and raise our hands in worship in the sanctuary, Gene sits quietly in an armchair in the lobby and listens.
When the service is over, the second part of church begins for Gene. He can’t get up and walk around as people chat, laugh and hang out in the lobby, so he sits quietly in his chair. But he’s seldom sitting alone. People like Skylar stop and chat with Gene, soaking in his quiet friendliness and wisdom.
A Healthy Church Should Always Look Something Like This Read More »