hands and feet

i am in this weird place... I went with about 20 or so from my church today to Philadelphia to do a work project for a church that we have connected with there. To be honest, it felt REALLY good. I'm not the kind of person who does things like this for my feeling. and i'm not talking about feeling good about myself, anyway. i'm talking about how for the first time in a few weeks, i feel like i belong in this church again. and i've hit a realization.

i feel most a part of this church (and any church, i believe) when i'm doing stuff. In other words, when i'm serving. This has become more poignant recently because i feel like i belong when i'm serving, but not especially in our "sunday morning service". I think it's because of this- i've been coming to grips with the gospel more recently in terms of being the hands and feet of Jesus on earth. being HIS vehicle- His method for saving the world. and too often, in poiusness, the church has turned off the world. by doing horrific things, by commiting acts of evil in the name of Christ- by acting exactly the opposite of how Christ taught us to act. One of the primary ways that people will see the Church is really Christ's is by loving others. And honestly, love is not an emotion- it is, as the old song goes, something you do. my feelings of love for my wife mean jack crap if I don't express them some way. and our love for others means just the same without some way of expressing.

So, for whatever reason, i feel more like i belong in my church now when i'm serving and i don't feel very much like i belong on sunday mornings... this is very strange...