Wonderings--June 21

Last evening we had a great experience with VBS here at Bethesda. It was our first day and the children who came to Bible School were excited. They were ready to learn and encounter God. And I saw that passion throughout the program. Whether they 'crossed the Red Sea' with me, or sang with Donna, or created their crafts with Liz, or played games Jennifer and Leslie, God was with them. Even as we ate dinner that Edie, Linda, and Esther provided, we could sense God was going to be there. 

It was such a good evening that, as we get ready for Day 2 I wonder if we have the energy to do the whole thing again? 

The program of VBS stretches the church and its members at the convergence point of faith and service. Certainly we believe totally and completely in how God is at work with us, and how God is at work with the children. But VBS also offers us the time to wonder: can we truly do this? 

As I thought about this question I remembered something that I read in preparation for my Doctoral Final Paper that still sticks with me. In his book, Incarnational Ministry: Being with the Church, Sam Wells says this: 

"The conversation we're about to have, this conversation we're now having, could be the most important one of your life. It doesn't have to be-- I can laugh, I can relax, I can have fun, I can just be with you in joy or in sorrow. But it can be. It may not be the right time for you, but it's always the right time for me. I will never tell you [that] I'm too busy. I will never make light of your struggles. I will never tell you something more interesting actually happens to me. . .

I'll never do any of those things because all of them in different ways are saying I'm out of my depth. . . I am someone who, however deep you wish to go, will never be out of my depth. You can trust me to listen. You can trust me to withhold my personal investment in the issues for another time and place. You can trust me to be alert to the ways of God however strange the story you tell."

This is the ministry of VBS I think, as it is also the way that Sam describes the ministry, from his perceptive. At VBS, as in Sunday and in instances throughout our church life, we find ways to show up and care for the children by granting our children the time that they need to be with us as they are also with God. 

We always have time for them. We always let them push our patience and ask us just one more question. We always grant them to opportunity to derail a conversation because something special in them is beginning to feel God at work. . . And as God is at work in them, we are in the perfect place to listen and dwell and encourage. 

I wonder, can we do it? I believe we can. 

Blessings