What Does A Vital Congregation Look Like? A cracked pot.
When we think about a vital congregation, many of us imagine worship with pews filled with people of every generation, joyous music, and moving sermons. We also imagine a variety of programs from Sunday School and Bible studies to service projects and potluck fellowships. These images focus on relationships among members and connections between the congregation and its community.
Indeed, this is one image of a vital congregation, but it is not the only image. I’d like to share a story of the most vital congregation I ever visited.
I was in St. Paul MN attending seminary over a 2-week summer intensive. When Sunday came, most people went to the church right off campus which was known for its “high church” experience, but I wanted something different. I Googled the area and found a Peace Lutheran church. It was a small place only a mile away. Sunday morning, I walked up the hill to find the congregation nestled in the middle of a modest neighborhood. When I entered there was no narthex. I walked directly into the sanctuary. A giant labyrinth covered most of the cement floor, but chairs were arranged on top of it facing the altar. On one side of the room there was coffee and donuts. I was greeted by a number of people who were milling around. They gave me a bulletin and invited me to sit down. There may have been 30 people present including many seniors and a few young families with children who ran around the sanctuary throughout the service.
That particular Sunday there were clay pots displayed around the altar, in the windows and all over the sanctuary. Above the center there was a giant wire frame of a pot with cracks decorating its interior hanging like a chandelier over the center of the sanctuary above the baptismal font. I marveled at all the pots and wondered what they were about.
Worship began and followed a traditional Lutheran liturgy. When we got to the sermon, I learned that the pastor was a potter and that these pots had been made by him and many of the congregation members in a class he taught. In his sermon, the pastor began by talking about the potter analogy that comes up in several places including including Jeremiah (Jer. 18) . Then he talked about the importance of clay jars in ancient times and described how people fixed cracks in their pots with melted silver or gold making those pots stronger, more beautiful and even more valuable than the originals. He compared us to earthen pots and described how God takes our flaws and failures (our cracks) and, fills them with precious metal of grace – making us stronger and more beautiful. Next, he invited members to share their own brokenness with the congregation.
A few volunteers had been prepared for this and stepped forward. One man was an alcoholic who had been sober for over 10 years. He shared his story of brokenness and his ongoing road rebuilding his identity and his life. Then a woman who suffered from mental illness shared her story of brokenness and the importance of community as she lives with her disability. Next the pastor opened the floor to anyone else who wanted to share their brokenness. After a brief awkward silence, people began to open up. One by one, several individuals shared their stories of brokenness and talked about how God was present in their lives walking with them – especially through community. God’s presence was the silver poured into their cracked lives, bringing strength, connections and healing.
It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen at church. These people were authentically sharing their stories with one another and even me – a stranger. Their vulnerability cracked open my heart opening me to see what God was doing in that place. Here I glimpsed what true Christian community is all about.
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