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The Pastoral Lens
That's "Snow" Excuse to Miss Church!
Tuesday, February 25, 2003
I know what some of you are thinking as you read the title of this week's article. You think I'm going to come down heavy on all those who missed church this past Sunday due to the snowstorm. Well.....you're right, sort of. I mean, I certainly sympathize with many of you who simply couldn't shovel out those 4-foot drifts from the end of your driveway and you were not within walking distance of your church. Yes, some churches cancelled their services right from the get go, making your decision an easy one. I guess I'm a little bit biased since going to the Ukraine on a missions trip back in the fall of 1996.I found out shortly after I arrived in Dnepepetrovsk, a large city in eastern Ukraine, that hardship was a relative term. Our gracious hosts beamed from ear to ear about their humble facilities. A church of 700 had a whopping 10 parking spots, 4 of which were unoccupied for the Sunday morning service. The sanctuary boasted several rows of straight, wooden pews. The heating was at a level just enough to keep pipes from freezing. I was there in late October so it was reasonably comfortable, but what was a mid-January morning like? Some of the churches we were in had no indoor plumbing and the smell of the outhouse could stop a Mack truck. A short service had 3 sermons, while a long one had 6. Many of the saints here in Canada feel that suffering through a service that lasts more than an hour somehow elevates them to martyr status.
My true reality check, however, came when I spent an extended period of time with the host pastor one evening. Through an interpreter, he shared some of his experiences trying to pastor a church during the cruel years of communism. On several occasions his home was ransacked and stripped of Bibles and hymnals. He was fined and imprisoned. He was beaten. He was spied on by secret police. People lied about him and informed the authorities. Police threatened anyone who tried to go to worship, and gave them beatings and imprisonment. Nevertheless, the church grew. People took the risk and came in all sorts of weather to enjoy the privilege of worship. No padded pews, no hot coffee, no paved parking lots. Just God all wrapped up in grey buildings. People sang from handmade hymnals, written out from memory, because their printed ones had been confiscated. They trekked through harsh winter weather for the cherished privilege of standing in an unheated building with others of like faith and determination.
I sat in stunned silence as I listened to my newly-found mentor. This spiritual giant was older than his years, worn down by the rigors of fighting for his faith. I grimaced as I thought of all the pathetic excuses people give me for not being able to attend church. Where is our commitment, I thought? I called to mind some my own reasons used over the years, miserably falling short of anything reasonable.
So, here I sit, thinking back on the big "snow day" of 2003. Yeah, I'm being somewhat cynical today, I'll give you that much. But somehow I think we could do a little bit better. The donut shops didn't seem to be hurting too much for business, or was that my imagination? I'm going to ask the Lord to help me appreciate how good I've got it in my church here in Canada. The last time I checked the heat was still on!
