Are You Willing To Be Vulnerable?

What does it mean to be a part of a church? Why come to church in the first place?  Is it going to be boring? What if I don’t know anyone? These are age-old questions that many of us still struggle through.  Coming out of a pandemic, these questions seem especially pertinent.  For many of us, we are either entering or re-entering churches that we have not been inside of for more than a year.  This moment is significant because, in one way, we are all “new” to church, and that gives us the ability to pause and think about what it means.

The fact that we are all “new” to church means we must remind ourselves what it means to be vulnerable.  For some introverts like myself, it means putting ourselves out there and making a friend; for others, it means putting aside prejudices we may hold that keep us from recognizing someone’s gifts.  Still for others, it means being open to doubt and questions and difficulties, and sharing that with someone close.  

The church is the place where we learn to be vulnerable, together.  First and foremost, the church is nothing other than a community of people formed by and around Jesus, and this community exists to be Jesus’s love to the world.  Practically speaking, that means this community is the place where we learn to build friendships, to forgive debts and wrongs, to care for those around us, and to tear down prejudices.  All of which requires us to be vulnerable.

Being vulnerable also means being part of a community: one can only be vulnerable among others.  If the pandemic taught us anything, it is that we need each other: we need friendships, we need people who listen to us, who compromise, who help us and grow with us.  This is what the church is, and who it is for: for people relearning and remembering what it means to build community and grow together. 

-Zach