Expeditionary Force

Our church makes chocolate, peanut butter filled, eggs to sell as a fund raiser around easter time. It takes a lot of work and we have a lot of people show up to help every night for a couple of weeks. There was a conversation last week as to what was the best part of making the eggs. The consensus was that the time spent together was cherished. I would have thought getting a crack at the "rejects" might have won but I am glad our church values spending time together.

I see church as an expeditionary force. (I've spent a lot of time thinking about this and I've written a lot of notes on it.) This is opposed to a spiritual journey. I really have no problem with a spiritual journey but it is often thought of in solitary terms. I enjoyed reading WIlkinson's "The Dream Giver" but it is primarily a solo journey. I liked Bunyon's "Pilgrim's Progress" but it too is very much a solo journey. I like the idea of expeditions because they are usually thought of in terms of more than one person. I think that is how it should be.

As pastor I have been graciously invited to be the leader of this expedition. Our expedition is made up of all sorts of people who each bring something to the expedition. We have experts as well as porters. Some know a lot more about expeditions than I do but they are gracious to me and a great benefit to us. Some wear all the latest gear and look professional but they are really novices. It shows when times are tough. Some don't really want to be on this expedition and I'm not sure how long they are going to last. In the past I've seen these kind go both ways. Some leave and never come back. Others eventually find their niche and become fully committed to the expedition. All of our members, including myself, work to improve our technique. Some take this more seriously than others. We pick up new expedition members along the way. Some of these come from other expiditions some are simply lost and we run across them as we travel.

In all cases we recognise the importance of being together. This is not a journey we can or should make alone. We need each other and as time goes on we begin to understand the importance of everyone doing their part.