Submitted by Pastor Brad Dush, Fairfax Methodist Church

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. ~ Hebrews 10:24-25, NLT

First, thank you if you are reading this. Second, I hope you have a home church. If not, I encourage you to find one – no, discover one! I have been a part of a church in some capacity for almost 40 years. Church has been an extraordinary part of my life. I know it is easy for me as a pastor to say that, but there have been times in my adult life when I have not actively pastored a church. In those moments, the task that burdened me most was finding a church for me and my family. The best support I received growing up was from the church family and friends I made at church camp. In fact, to this day, the closest friends I have I did church stuff with, not school. I would never have tried pumpkin pie if it had not been a sweet little old lady from church who introduced me to it.

You might read that opening paragraph and think, wow, Pastor Brad found the perfect church as a kid, which is why it stuck. Well, you would be wrong. Looking back now, I realize something for the first time recently. My family and I fit in so well in that first church we attended because the people in that church were like us, far from perfect. They were wonderfully imperfect people who were broken, hurting, and trying to get through life in one piece, just like my family. The pastor was an alcoholic in recovery who loved Jesus and shared his testimony often. Others in the church had experienced similar ups and downs as my family. All of us were trying to let God work on us together. I didn’t realize it as a kid, but I understood it better when visiting with others over the last few years.

The problem is when people think the church is full of perfect people, or worse yet, when the people in a particular church try to show the people outside they are perfect. None of us are perfect, and church people need to stop acting like they are perfect. Good church people know the difference isn’t what they have done or might do; the difference is Jesus! I think my family thought that church would be our forever home. However, a few years after we started attending, we experienced rejection from this church in a way that hurt. The way that church hurt my family, I figured this “church thing” was over for our family. Instead of leaving the church altogether, my mom and dad searched for a new church and found one. My family experienced what some call “church hurt.” I remember talking to my dad about how the church had hurt us and how we should not worry about letting another church hurt us ever again. I will never forget what he said next, “Brad, it’s not Jesus’ fault we were hurt; people make bad choices sometimes. Church is not about how nice people are; it’s about Jesus and what He did for us.” I challenged my dad, saying we need Jesus and not people. He told me it didn’t work that way.

It doesn’t work that way. We need Jesus and our brothers and sisters in Christ. The writer of Hebrews impresses this upon the reader in this text: We need each other. Let this be your open invitation to find a church to attend in Atchison County. I don’t care if it is my church; find a church family. If going on a random Sunday morning is too big a step, attend a special function. Please find a church home; it is life-changing! In the words of Helen Keller, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”