Warren Sentinel Weekly Pulpit
By my count there are over 50 church buildings in Warren County. Some are made of brick or stone; some of wood; some have steeples or bell towers; some are fit for postcards or calendars; some look like warehouses or office buildings; some are old, some are new; and the list goes on.
So how many churches are there in Warren County? The answer depends on how “church” is defined. Most people equate “church” with a building. Remember the rhyme that involved folding your hands and saying “Here is the church, here is the steeple, open the door, see all the people?” By that definition there are at least 50.
But for others, the word “church” refers to a particular institution or denomination. These people might say, “I belong to the _______ Church.” They might attend church at a particular building, but their ties are to the larger body of which their local church is a part. So maybe there are less than 50?
Still others attend “house” churches. These churches do not own buildings or rent space from others. These churches consist of believers who gather regularly for worship – they just happen to gather in homes rather than in church buildings. What does this do to our count?
Albert Einstein once said, “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” I repeat this quote not to imply that some churches in our community don't count, but rather to highlight the fact that not all of the Church can be easily counted.
So why even count? What if instead of focusing on all the different churches around our county (the different styles and sizes of buildings, the different denominational affiliations, the different worship styles, etc.) we were to focus on what we hold in common? Might we find that we are, in fact, just ONE CHURCH? What if we were to focus on what unites us rather than what divides us? Indeed, isn't this what Jesus prayed for when he said, “that they may be one” (John 17)?
It is exciting to see an ever increasing number of Christians seeking to build bridges between churches in our community. Yes, there are differences – even important ones – between churches. But what we hold in common far outweighs our differences. I pray that we can find ways to together serve God and our neighbors. I believe that we can do this without ignoring or minimizing our differences and that we might even find ways to celebrate them.
In an effort to help build these bridges, I will begin hosting a radio program called “YOUR CHURCH.” It will air Sunday mornings beginning November 29th at 9:05AM on WFTR AM 1450. Each week I hope to feature a different church. Be sure to tune in to learn more about the Church in Warren County. And let me know if you would like your church featured.
