Belonging
“Belonging”
As you pass Oxford University United Methodist Church (OU) while driving down University Avenue, you can see this beautiful stain-glass image of the Good Shepherd resting above the entrance to the sanctuary. This image depicts Jesus holding a lamb in his arms. We get this representation of Christ from the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John. Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd. He says that “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” (John 10:3) The sheep respond to the shepherd’s voice because there is a connection between the two. There is a sense of belonging. For a church, this image evokes an idea that when you enter this space you will be held, nurtured and cared for by God and God’s people. Just as the sheep belongs to the Good Shepherd, you can enter this place and find belonging. It is this belonging in this community of faith that I would like to speak of.
We human beings long for groups to belong with. I belong to this generation so you can characterize me this way. I belong with the political ideology. I root for this team. I am apart of this big family. I could go on. Why do we do this? Why do we seek association with others? I consider myself to more introverted than extroverted, but even I could not bear the thought of navigating life’s journey without others. Deep down, I think that we all desire to be a part of a group, a community, a family that we can feel apart of, encouraged and loved by.
If human beings have this innate desire to belong, then how does the church respond to this desire? Is the church just a building to worship God in? Or does a church’s composition depend more upon having faithful disciples who are ready to live out the call to love God and to love our neighbor? I think a lot of us would obviously say that it’s the people of the church that are far more important than the bricks and mortar, but I ask this question to emphasize the fact that people do not feel like they belong in a place just because the doors might be unlocked most of the time. Are we actively creating space for people to belong? Here is where OU comes in.
I first came to OU as a freshman in college and almost immediately I felt like I belonged. The preaching on many Sundays convicted me and drew into a deeper relationship with Christ. The worship gave me the chance sing to God loudly and off-key (I even got to raise my hands if I felt so led). Even the coffee that was provided helped me to relax and begin my Sabbath. This community was a place that I belonged, where I got to meet people and those people wanted to actively be involved in what God was doing in my life. Throughout my time at OU during undergrad, but primarily during my internship this past summer, I have gotten to witness all the many ways that OU makes people feel like they belong.
Creating intentional community with other people is ingrained in this church’s DNA. I have been apart of some of the various “life-phase” ministries that the church offers such as children’s, student, and college ministry. In addition to these the church offers other avenues for involvement that can be viewed as typical of a church such as Adult Sunday School. Now I know what you’re thinking: “Every church does this. What makes OU special?” Let me tell you. OU offers up a large amount of space in its building for recovery ministries because this family holds that the redemptive and healing work of God is available to people even when they are living with debilitating addictions. OU encourages its members to get involved in a Lifegroup because we believe that we best thrive as Christians when we have close-knit relationships to empower us and speak identity into us. OU offers different types of worship because we believe that someone’s worship preferences don’t prevent us from having community with each other. OU ministers to specific groups of people such as right out of college young adults (a season in life where community is desperately needed). Now this church is far from perfect and by no means holds the blueprints for ministry in the twenty-first century, but the church creates space for a wide variety of people because we believe that Christ invites everyone into the flock.
Before this summer, I didn’t know whether I was called to pastoral ministry. I knew that God had a call on my life to love and serve all of God’s children through word and deed, but I didn’t think that would take place within the walls of the church. God showed me something this summer though. I believe now more than ever that there is so much value in being invested in relationships in a specific place. I now have a greater calling to pastoral ministry and creating an environment in which all of God’s sons and daughters can feel that they belong and that they are held in the arms of God.