The Church Around the World

I could see it from afar because it stood out instantly - a brightly colorful gathering of people on the bland, dirty horizon of miles and miles of red dirt. Here men, women, and children had come, sitting under the shade of a small group of trees. We had not come upon them haphazardly, but rather very intentionally, and we did not come out to sight see nor to observe them, but to join in and participate with them - our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

It was Sunday morning, and we were going to church. 

There's no building and no pews. No stained glasses windows, steeples, decorations, or even a cross in the front and center. But that's not really what a church is anyway. 

We joined in their joyful singing, clapping, and yes, even dancing. We joined in their greeting one another by shaking hand after hand after hand until I think everyone had touched everyone. We joined in their praying as one church leader introduced a topic of prayer and every one else joined in until all the voices became a symphony of prayer. We joined in their giving, for even people who wonder if their crops will make it through the dry season to feed their families have the faith and obedience to offer their "two copper coins" to the Lord. And we joined with them in communion as we feasted together on the flesh and blood of the Lamb, proclaiming his death and resurrection until he comes. 

Several things stood out to me about the two churches we were blessed to attend during our stay in Burkina, and I believe they are worth mentioning and pondering.

At the first church we visited, we stayed for four hours, and they were still singing when we left. "We were there four hours?" My dad asked in utter disbelief when we got back in the car. "It sure didn't seem like it! If I went to a four-hour church service back home, I would have been bored out of my brain. Here, I didn't even understand anything that they were saying, and the time just flew by!"

The joy and celebration of the people makes it very obvious that they are blessed to be with one another in the presence of the Lord. When I watch them sing and dance and pray and listen to the word of God and respond to it, it becomes apparent that we as human beings were created to worship the Creator and delight in following him. When we fulfill that purpose with heartfelt and sincere love for God, there is no place else you would rather be and nothing else you would rather do. The time flies by. Worship becomes an obsession instead of an obligation. It becomes a party instead of a program or a service on Sunday morning. It becomes a delight rather than bore. 

Many of the songs they sing center on the topic of spiritual warfare. They sing about how the evil forces of the enemy will try to attack them, but those forces have no claim on them because of Christ. They sing of freedom found in Jesus, and they worship him for his power and strength. Spiritual warfare is a reality for these people, and they literally know what it is like to be set free from traditional religion, curses, fetishes, and idolatry. Because of this, they celebrate the power of Christ over darkness in a way that I have never experienced before. We don't really do that very much here in the United States, and it makes me wonder if we are really missing something. 

As we approached communion, the people sang a solemn song that reminded them of their sins and beckoned them to come to Christ. The words used to describe forgiveness in the dagara language literally mean, "to take sin and swallow it." As the people prayed, they were saying, "Take my sin, Lord, and swallow it forever."

As I took my little piece of bread that had been dipped in the juice, I went back to my seat and thought about communion in a way I had never thought about it before. Jesus has taken my sin away from me, chewed it up, and swallowed it. He actually took my sins into his own body, ridding me of them forever. Now I am given a piece of his body and blood, and I chew it up and swallow it forever. It becomes a part of me as his body is absorbed into my own and his blood begins to flow rough my veins. Christ took a piece of me (my sin) upon himself and swallowed it, and in exchange he gave me a piece of himself (his righteousness) that I now take and swallow. It's the great exchange - my sin for God's righteousness. 

At the end of one of the services, the people shared prayer requests with the congregation. One woman asked the body to pray for her because she had idols in her house that she wanted to get rid of, but her husband would not allow it. She requested prayers for her husband, that God would soften his heart so they could crush their idols. 

Later that day, we heard a report from one of the pastors that some people in a village had decided to get rid of their idols, so the church leaders went from house to house, burning and disposing of the household idols that had held the people captive to fear for so long. 

This is real life. And we tend to think it is crazy and backwards that some people still have idols in their possession. But it makes me wonder: what about us? Are we really that different from the Africans? We have idols in our houses; we just don't smash and burn them. We go on living with them and pray for God to forgive us and help us follow him better next week. All the while, the idols stay put right where they are. And we wonder why it is so hard to stay close to God and not get distracted by the things of this world. I wonder if it is time to literally smash or burn some of the items in our houses that are distracting us and keeping us from following God more closely. 

So I have been praying for that sweet African woman and her husband, but I have also been praying for me and us - that God would soften our hearts to smash the idols in our homes.

I love the church - but not the building, not the musical instruments and great worship songs, not the excellent speakers and heart felt messages, not the denominations and programs, not even the African style of worship. I love the body. I love the people around the whole world who gather to celebrate Jesus in the presence of one another. I love that church is not something we do, it is who we are and who Christ is in us. It is God's kingdom coming to earth - the reign of Christ in the hearts of people across the nations from Africa to Asia to Europe and America, to the islands and mountains and deserts to the ends of the earth. 

Worthy is the lamb to receive honor, glory, power, and dominion from all the peoples of the earth from this day forth and forevermore.