FROM THE HEART OF BILL
For the next few months I want to touch on a few things that really make for an effective CHURCH.
Our vision statement at Medina United Methodist Church is: “To Know Christ and to Make Him Known.”
This month I want to share with you some thoughts on FELLOWSHIP. The church is called the BODY OF CHRIST. That is, when believers meet together in His Name that the world ought to be able to see Him more clearly. Jesus said in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” The church is very important in making Christ known.
One of my favorite movies is, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” It is a comedy love story based on the real-life experiences of Greek American Actress Nia Vardalos. At 30 years of age, this unattractive, slightly overweight woman seemed doomed to be a hostess in her father’s Greek restaurant for the rest of her life. But Toula has dreams of a better life. Those dreams cause her to made something out of herself. She goes to college and then lands a great job where she meets and falls in love with a long-hair, non-Greek, English teacher, Ian.
Ian’s parents are a wealthy couple without any kind of real extended family. One day they accept a dinner invitation at Toula’s parent’s home and are shocked at what they find. As they drive up to the house, nearly 100 people – the entire Greek clan, greet them on the front lawn with hugs and kisses. Amid the dozens of cousins, aunts, and uncles (most of whom are named “Nick”), there is a goat hanging on a spit over an open fire.
Toula’s father smiles and says, “Welcome to my home!” Toula’s mother approaches the bewildered couple and gives them the traditional hug and kiss on the cheek. The initial shock eventually begins to wear off and soon they start to relax once they realize how much they are loved.
What a picture of what the family God can be! I think the movie really captures a dimension of fellowship that is so rich and vital to the church. I am so glad everyone at church doesn’t look and act alike. How boring that would be! God made us incredibly different in terms of taste and preferences. I’m so thankful that there is rich diversity in the midst of our unity in Christ. My prayer for all of us is that we might have a rich fellowship in which we truly let it all hang out and be real with one another. (1 Corinthians 12:12-26)
In Christ,
Bill