Introduction

The Space Between: A place of conversation to discuss God, life, and all the things in between.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Getting Back Up Again

In the movie Batman Begins there is a scene where Thomas Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth descend into a well near Wayne Manor. They are there to rescue Thomas's son, Bruce, who has accidentally fallen in. Bruce has a few broken bones and has been badly scared by a colony of bats. But for the most part, it appears he should be okay.  Bruce doesn't see that though, so as his loyal butler Alfred hauls him up to his bedroom, he asks the terrified boy a question:

"Took quite a fall, didn't we, Master Bruce?"

Bruce certainly did. The fall hurt him both physically and mentally, leaving him confined to bed and not sure what to do.  It is an emotional state that I think Wellington Fellowship knows all too well. In the past we have tumbled down many chasms and endured far too many lumps for our own good. Today was another such bruise as we tried to launch our initial foray into the world of Risk Taking Mission and Service. We were going to join with the Fort Collins Campus in a Food Drive, but we were going to go further by dropping off grocery bags door-to-door in the neighborhood just north of us with the promise to return next week for whatever donations our neighbors provided. Essentially, we were going outside our comfort zone to invite our neighbors to join with us in the sacred task of feeding the hungry. Yet when today dawned, it seems that the cards were stacked totally against us. The weather was extremely wet, windy and cold. Many families in the church were traveling. Others had prior commitments from hectic calendars. Barrier after barrier popped up. Ultimately, there were only 3-4 of us left staring out into the rain . After some discussion, our situation proved to be too much to handle.  Therefore, we decided to indefinitely postpone the community involvement aspect of the drive.  

It was disheartening result to be sure and a major blow to the new ministries and excitement we hoped to generate. For many of us, it also hearkened back to the many body blows we sustained in the past.  Once again, we found ourselves battered and needing to be hauled up from the dry well of a failed effort. Once again, we are dazed and confused, wondering what to do next. In the movie, this is where Bruce's father comes in and after comforting his boy, he makes the following comment:

"And why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up."

Our Heavenly Father is here to do just that with us today. God comforts us, but in reassuring us with the Divine Presence, God is also asking us the question:

"And why do we fall, Wellington Fellowship?  So we can learn to pick ourselves up."

So as we again pick up the pieces, we should we learn from this attempt? Personally, I think there are several lessons to take from this, especially  if we want to live into our vision of church growth and changing lives in Wellington. Accomplishing such a lofty goal involves determination and intentionality. We need to make church a priority so people can see its importance in our lives. Picking ourselves up also means not being afraid to try again, to get up and try the very thing we failed at before, using the lessons we learned to guide us.

So what are those guiding lessons? Is it for the church to find better ways to communicate? Or to possibly determine a ministry that is more accessible to people with crazy schedules? Or is it that we need to set aside time in our crazy schedule to help the church achieve its goals? I would love to hear your thoughts about this as we once again begin sensing where God's path forward is for us.

We are destined to be the Batman of churches after all ;). So keep your heads up, my friends. Batman wasn't built or defined in one day. Nor will we be characterized by the events of today.