An Officially Organized Church

Reflections on ‘making it’

In a few days, the church (Resurrection Church Ottawa) I lead becomes a ‘particular’ church in our denomination. It means we have the money and the elders to be our own church. We are exiting the baby, toddler and adolescent phases and becoming a church that can move out of its parent’s house and live on its own.

It’s a strange time.

In the first place, this church was just an idea that existed in my head and my wife’s head 6 years ago. At that point, it was just us. We didn’t live in Ottawa. We hadn’t raised any money, didn’t have anyone committed. Our church consisted of just the two of us and our two kids. So, it is strange to see something that was just an idea take shape in reality and become a real breathing thing. After all, I have lots of ideas and plans, and not many of them ever make it this far. It really is an amazing thing to see something come from nothing.

Second, the church I pastor isn’t the one I thought I would have. What began as thoughts in my head and words on paper took different shape in reality. The kind of outreach we now have in our community never crossed my mind before we moved to Ottawa. The ideas, programs and events were born out of seeing needs here. But, more broadly, we have seen people meet and get married in our church, people have kids, people make friends. Lives have been altered in our church. I guess what I mean is that the life of our church is bigger and broader and more holistic than what I had originally conceived. In some ways my expectations and hopes were far too small.

I read this Wendell Berry quote this week and it jumped off the page.

He lived its life and it lived his; he knew that, of the two lives, his was meant to be the smaller and the shorter. (From Jayber Crow)

Berry wrote those lines about a farmer and a farm because he’s Wendell Berry. But those lines rang true about church and pastoring. I live the life of the church and it lives mine. But more than that, I have realized that as this church becomes official, my life will likely be the smaller and the shorter of the two. That is humbling and beautiful. The church might exist long after I die and I will just be one of the pictures that hang in the lobby of previous pastors. It gives me hope that in 75 years, Resurrection Church might still be loving and serving its neighbours here.

Third, and this probably should have been first, but organizing a church is such a gift from God. Getting to the point of maturity that we have is a minor miracle. God didn’t have to bless our church but he did. He didn’t have to bring people, but he did. He didn’t owe me anything. But he is such a good and generous Father to give me and Jen the gift of seeing a church born and grow up. Lots of pastors and lots of church planters don’t get to do what we do and don’t get to see what we see. I feel profoundly humbled and grateful.