No Place Like Home

It seems Jesus keeps prompting me to think about our church through the lens of family.

Last night I had dinner at PF Changs.  Wow.  Changs spicy chicken does not disappoint:)  Toward the end of the meal I asked our waiter how long he'd been working at the restaraunt.  He said two years, and then he added that PF Changs was the best company he'd ever worked for.  I asked him why.  He said that his managers and co-workers felt like family.  His reason: they all go out after work together to drink.

If our church can't beat that then we ought to sell our building, sleep until noon on Sundays, and then watch the Lions lose in our pajamas.

But we can. 

I know we can. 

I'm sure that Dustin's answer to my question had deeper implications then drinking.  Those after-hour trips to the bar are meeting a profound need in him.  It's a place where he's accepted, where he feels that he belongs.  For Dustin, the bar feels like home. 

That might strike you as odd.  You might want to point out that a bar is not a home, that it's actually a long ways away from home.  And I would tend to agree.  But that's probably because you and I have been blessed with a better definition of family.  What about the young men and women in our city like Dustin, who long for family yet have to settle for a few drinks with some friends.  Will we give them a better option?  Will we give them a better definition?

I know of a great church plant that meets in Dustin's neighborhood and I invited him to check it out.  I told him the church shared his dream.  They are trying to build a family.  And for a moment his eyes lit up. 

A church can be a family? 

I don't think the thought had ever crossed his mind.

Comments

[rick]

remember the cheers theme song...there's a lot of truth to the lyrics here...

Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.

Wouldn't you like to get away?

Sometimes you want to go

Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.

You wanna go where people know,
people are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows
your name.

[Katie]

Great thoughts! I was invited to a similar situation with work friends tonight. I'll try to keep this in mind.

[Christy]

The bar is one of the best places to minister to and love on people through friendship. Jesus met people where they were at, and your post gets at the crux of why so many of my friends and acquaintences head to the bar after work - they are looking for family, for a way to unwind, for comfort and familiarity.

We in the Body of Christ should be offering this to those who don't know Jesus yet, but too often, we don't have a proper understanding of what that context of "family" should look like. Once we "get" it, following Jesus and being part of the community God has designed and created us for becomes so inviting to others because it speaks to a deep need within each of us for community.

Great post.

[Jerome]

We all long to be loved :-)

[Vanessa]

I think your interaction with Dustin reveals the truth that we were created for relationship. Relationship not only with God but with others around us.

[Tony Sebastian]

I love PF Changs