Where´s the Church

Seat 22C on an American Airlines flight isn’t anything that unusual to be sure. Not an exit row or over the wing, definitely not first class and not too close to the bathrooms. As I looked at my boarding pass I wondered how long this flight would be, would it be very crowded and who will I be sitting by? As I waited in the aisle of the plane I scanned down to try and count out the rows to see if I could figure out if the row was full or not.

As I neared my seat I looked to see the middle one was open and I was on the aisle, well that probably won’t last long. I greeted my fellow aisle-issued traveler with a “Hello”. As I put my bags quickly under my seat and got out of the aisle, without really thinking I asked how things were going, she surprisingly replied that her day was very crazy. Ok I thought to myself, we have come to a decision point, pursue the conversation and find out what’s going on in this girls life or let it slide and read the three magazines and type away on my computer for the rest of the flight.

I chose option one.

What followed was two hours of conversation I truly never expected to hear from such a young person. She was traveling back to be with her family in Texas after spending two months in Florida with her boyfriend. Drug-abuse, four family splits, a one year old baby boy, friends committing suicide and two trips to rehab later I sat stunned that I had just heard all this. I really didn’t know how to offer and hope to this young lady. If I was in front of 500 Guatemalan kids I could rattle off our traditional Book of Hope presentation without thinking twice. I’m a professional in what I do and how it’s to be done. I can take any audience of kids wherever you want them to go, I can play any part in any drama, do any testimony at any time, I can set-up sound systems and troubleshoot them. I’ve got experience in over 18 different nations. But what does it matter if I can’t simply explain how Christ cares and loves this girl.

We had already covered all the surface type questions, and I didn’t really know where to go from there when she asked me if I had ever been involved in drugs. I guess this was the open door I had been looking to find. I explained parts of my story and how I had never done drugs because of the effect they had on my family and friends. I told how drugs had messed up a lot of my friends and I knew that I didn’t want to do that. Then I started to tell her about God. About how He cares and loves and is a friend to people in need. How it is more than going to church and that relationship I have with God helped me avoid those bad decisions. There is a reason that I didn’t do drugs and it was because I want something better for my life.

We continued talking for much of the rest of the flight about God and the part he can play in each of our lives. During much of her story I kept wondering how her life would have been different if someone could have intervened. What would her story be like if someone from the church she was attending had cared enough to reach out. What would she be telling me today if the church had done what it is supposed to do?

It doesn’t take ministerial credentials to listen and be a caring person. That’s what the world is looking for. Someone that will take the time and be Jesus to them, they are looking for a face to put on God.

On one hand, I wanted to encourage her to find a church and people that could help her. Go back to God, find out what he has for you. Find a good church that has people that will pray for you and keep you accountable. Yet in the same moment it frightened me to think how those church members would react or treat her when they heard her story. Where is the church today? Where are the people who will take in the hurting and hopeless world? Are we too busy with committee meetings and church services trying to decide the best hymnals to sing? Are we missing the people because we’re arguing over the best program to reach them?

Our team will be traveling the next 3 months into Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama. These countries each present different challenges; but please pray specifically for open doors to schools and the local churches to be receptive to the Book of Hope ministry. Please also pray for me as I attempt to lead an intern team into the great unkown. I need God’s help daily for I know that I cannot do anything without Him.

I don’t write this with any malice or negative intentions. Only to help us all think about the people we are impacting and the lives we are commissioned to change. Be aware of the people around you, we really don’t know the impact a kind word or a listening ear can be.

Where is the church and how can we change? How can we be the refuge to the world we are meant to be?

A girl named Lyndsey in 22A would like to know.