We’ve all heard that E=mc2. I’m not a physicist, so I won’t pretend to understand how mass and speed come together to make energy or how energy divided by speed becomes mass or however that works. I was probably sitting at a piano when I should have been studying for a science test. I managed, at least, to rattle off for a test that the E in the equation stands for “energy.”
So what does the E in ELCA stand for?
When I think of the word “Evangelical” I usually conjure images of the televangelists I saw on TV as a kid; or people who have knocked on my door to share information about their own church. That’s not me! I don’t know about you, but I could make a pretty long list of things I’d rather do than find strangers to talk to about Jesus. Pastor Lowell seems like he’s pretty good at it – but he went to school and a whole bunch of summer camps to learn to talk about Jesus. How can I be evangelical without feeling like I’m stepping so far out of my comfort zone?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately because I’m excited about all the things we do at Lord of Life and I can’t help but think, “people need to see that THIS is what church looks like.” And it is just recently I’ve realized that the Excitement is another E in the equation. E=E2!
I’m so excited about what we do that when I’m talking to friends about plans for the week I don’t mind saying, “we’re hosting some families at church this week and I’m going to hang out with them for a while” or “I have rehearsals every night this week because we’re getting ready for some awesome music at Easter.” Or if we’re talking about something terrible going on in the world, it is easy to say “we were just talking about that in a book study the other day at church and we said ...” The other day, Pilvi Ketola was talking to someone about her experience baking and she told them about making treats for meals at Stepping Forward. And each week we post pictures, events, and our thoughts on Facebook and people share them. And each time a post gets shared several hundred more people get to see it.
Simple acts like these are a far cry from stepping up to someone and saying, “have you been saved by Jesus Christ?” Instead, they demonstrate who we are, what we do, and what we believe without pressuring someone to think a certain way or feel guilty about not being part of a church community. And hopefully our words and actions offer a glimpse of Christ within us.
We’re doing a lot of great things at Lord of Life and maybe ... just maybe ... if we get excited enough, we can dare to utter the words, “do you want to come with me?”
Peace and love,
John Johns, Music Director