Life Lessons In A Church Parking Lot

He was old. But, since I was six, everyone seemed old. In retrospect, I suppose he must have been in his sixties. He smoked brown cigarettes. I remember that they were brown because he sat down in the dirt with me and my brother and pulled one of those lit cigarettes from his mouth and mounded up dirt around it to make a volcano complete with fire and smoke.

We were in the parking lot of our church. My dad was working on the church bus. Mr. Cecil was there with him. And, at six years old, I was discipled with a cigarette volcano.

I am not aware that any Bible verses were taught that day. But, we were being discipled. A Christian disciple is a follower of Christ. But, a Christian disciple is also a member of a church–a person connected, committed, and accountable to others within the same fellowship. We learned that day that we were loved and appreciated within our church family. And, my brother and I began to understand a little more about what it meant to be a part of a church family. I learned that “church” can happen outside of a Sunday School class room or a sanctuary.

More than thirty years ago I saw a man make a flaming volcano in a church parking lot and I haven’t forgotten it.

This week, I stood in a parking lot and watched a church building go up in flames. I stood by helplessly as more than 20 fire departments battled a blaze in a church building near my parents home. I have worshiped with that church. I know the people of that church. My heart broke.

My heart broke for the little town of Cowpens and the people of the First Baptist Church of Cowpens. My heart broke for the destroyed stained glass windows, the lost records, and the church leaders who would have to manage the disaster. My heart broke for the tears that fell with the with the thousands of gallons of water being used to extinguish the flames.

But, believe it or not, a blazing church building with her steeple standing against the smoke and flames reminded me of a smoldering volcano in a church parking lot.

I learned as a little boy that the church could exist outside the building. I learned that the church was made up of six year olds and sixty-six year olds and everyone else. I learned that the love of church family can extend outside the building, into the parking lot, and beyond.

And then, on Saturday evening, I learned it all over again. I was reminded that the church is not the building or the pastor or the worship leader. The church is the people of God, the disciples of Christ, committed to the mission of God and to each other. I saw a building burn, but the church is still alive and well and they were there in the parking lot.

I’m not old yet, but I’m getting there. And as I age, I remember that volcano more vividly. I remember a man who sat down in the dirt to love on two little boys who were a part of his church family. And as I remember him, I spend a little more time in the dirt myself. I spend a little more time investing in people of all ages in all sorts of ways because I know it matters.

I’m as committed to the proclamation of the Word of God as I ever have been, but I’m also more committed to fellowship and relationships than ever before. The church must be built on the foundation of Christ and his Word, but it does not function properly unless it also values the fellowship of God’s people with one another.

The church is more than a building. But it is also more than a worship service or a small group lesson. The church is the people of God.

As 2020 draws to a close and we look back on a year of social distancing. Draw near to your church. Commit to worship and small groups. But also commit to gathering with your church people. Gather around a cigarette volcano or a bonfire or a football game. Gather. Celebrate. Laugh. Love. Grieve. That is a big part of what the church was created to do and it is a huge part of what our world needs right now.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Isaiah 43