A Church That Plays Together....

A few weeks back, Jonas got up on stage and said, "Here at Reidland, we believe that a church that plays together is a church that stays together."  My heart warmed when he said it.

That is a phrase I have been quietly saying around church for as long as I can remember.  It's probably not original.  I am sure I picked it up somewhere. But, I have been saying it for so long I can't remember when I first made the statement.  

I really believe it is true.  When we live out the joy of our salvation and the sweetness of the abundant life in Christ together, we grow closer in ways we can't imagine.  When I was 18, my church in Michigan split.  It was one of the most painful experiences of my life.  Sadly, I have been around other splits since then, and they are all just as bad.  I believe that it is really hard to yell across the lobby at someone who fed you at their dining room table the night before. It is really hard to walk away from people you crisscrossed the country with on a church trip.  

If you notice the life of Jesus, we often see him eating with the people he is teaching.  He often took his disciples on long road trips.  It seems that Jesus really understood the importance of his followers having positive shared experiences.  

Church is here for a lot of reasons.  We want to teach the Bible, worship God, disciple children, care for the hurting, and reach the lost.  But all of that can be accomplished while enjoying the journey. Let's joyfully play together.  Let's take the time to really get to know one another.  Let's do life in each other's homes and in each other's lives.  And let's keep doing it, because we love one other and we are bonded in Christ.