Committment

When I was in ministry in Colorado there was a couple who I grew to love and respect as they taught me by their example about committment to the body of Christ. When I arrived in Colorado they had just retired and had begun to 'winter' in Arizona and 'summer' in the Colorado mountains while keeping an apartment in Denver. This couple was hospitable and loving to everyone at church. And whether in town or out of town they were supportive of the church and made sure that their contribution check made it to the church office each week.

As the years went by and I got to know this couple better I realized their theological views very rarely matched the views of the leadership of the church. The husband came from a background that viewed paid ministers and buildings as an addition to the Bible that was not always beneficial. The wife came from a background that was rich in the heritage of reuniting the Christian Church and the Churches of Christ. The church I was ministering at had a building, employed ministers, and struggled to view anything other than a Church of Christ as acceptable. However you would not know how significant their differences were with the leadership of the local church unless you sat down for an extended conversation and pulled this information out of them.

One day I finally asked them why they continued to consider the church we were at together as their home church and be both financially and emotionally supportive of the church and its leadership when the church quiet often violated their theological understanding of the Bible. Their response started me on a journey of transformation. They explained how that they had committed years earlier that this would be their church home. They explained how that committment is not something to be taken lightly- if they jumped from church to church looking for a perfect match in all areas they would demonstrate to their children and all around them that they were committed only if they got their way. And they explained how that if God placed the leadership of each local church in place then whether they agreed or disagreed with the leaders their integrity in following God demanded that they respect and follow the spiritual leadership of that church.

And you know what? These two people are some of the happiest and most content people I have ever known. They decided it was their job to committ to the local church, develop deep Christ centered relationships at church that continued through thick and thin, and continuously seek how God desired to use them.

Through the years it has occurred to me that their committment to the local church we were together at in Colorado was an example of how God loves us. God does not break his fellowship with us when he disagrees with us. God does not move on to someone else when the relationship is not all that he had hoped it would be. God continues to provide and bless us even when he should withhold everything and starve us until we get it right. And above all God sticks with us through thick and thin, through good and bad... We would do good to imitate this kind of committment.