What characterizes a really great church? Is it a giant, well-administered institution that has talented, high-profile members, gleaming facilities, unassailable orthodoxy, and an outstanding financial portfolio—complete with large reserves?
Or could a great church inhabit a small community with less than outstanding talent, facilities, and finances? What makes a great church great?
In a collection of traditional Jewish tales edited by Saul Bellow, there appears the story of a rabbi who lived in a small Jewish village in Russia. This rabbi had the peculiar habit of vanishing every Friday morning for several hours. The devoted villagers boasted that during these hours their rabbi ascended to heaven to talk with God.
One day a skeptical newcomer arrived in town and determined to discover where the rabbi really went.
One Friday morning the newcomer hid near the rabbi’s house, watched him rise, say his prayers, and put on the clothes of a peasant. He saw the rabbi take an ax and go into the forest, chop down a tree, and gather a large bundle of wood.
Next the rabbi proceeded to a shack in the poorest section of the village in which lived an old woman and her sick son. He left them the wood, which was enough for the week. The rabbi then quietly returned to his own house. The newcomer to the village saw it all.
Eventually the newcomer stayed in the village und became one of the rabbi’s disciples. And whenever he hears one of his fellow villagers say, “On Friday morning our rabbi ascends all the way the heaven,” the newcomer quietly adds, “If not higher.”
In almost all of Jesus’ stories and teachings about God’s kingdom, the ones who are consistently commended are those who put their faith into practice by doing acts of service for their fellow creatures—no matter how small the acts or how humble the recipients. It’s not just knowing the right answers that recommend us to God or to our communities. It’s having the wisdom to live in our lives the principles of God’s kingdom.
“The strongest argument in favor of the gospel,” wrote Ellen White, “is a 1oving and lovable Christian” (The Ministry of Healing, p. 470).
Jesus used these words to say the same thing: “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). A church committed to honoring God this way achieves heaven’s standard of greatness regardless its circumstances. In settings no matter how humble, a church dedicated to service can’t be anything but great.
Stephen Chavez, a retired pastor and editor, has been a member of Sligo Church for more than 25 years.