The Importance of Pursuing Others
I’ve shared in these posts in the past a bit of my own struggle with church in recent years. I won’t go into any of that again here except to say I have been slow to reconnect with a body of believers. My wife and I have continued to attend a church regularly but I’ve intentionally avoided deep involvement. My reticence has had the desired effect of keeping me on the periphery of the institution’s activity. The observationist perspective I’ve taken (as opposed to the deeply-involved perspective) has given me the opportunity to evaluate my thoughts and emotions about the church. The church, however, has a way of intruding on one’s separateness.
Last Sunday, I slipped into worship un-observed as usual. I found an empty pew and slid in. The worship was good. I could, from my observationist perspective still feel I was involved in corporate worship, joining others in song and prayer. After the worship service, however, as I tried slip out as usual, my isolation was challenged.
First, an elderly gentleman stopped me, asked me my name and introduced himself. He then spent several minutes inviting me to an event scheduled for next month. He enthusiastically talked about how great it would be for me to connect to others. Before he finished I felt another presence at my left shoulder patiently waiting her turn. She had pursued me from her place in the choir loft to tell me thank-you for something I had done. She was genuinely pleased and I felt appreciated.
When I finished with her, I headed to the door. I had taken only a few steps when an arm reached out to grab me. It was an old friend I had not seen for a couple of years who happened to be visiting the church that morning. She explained that she saw me from across the room during worship and just had to come talk to me. We talked awhile about what her and her husband are doing and what their plans are for the future. She asked about my family and we parted with smiles on our faces.
I was one of the last ones out of the church building that day rather than one of the first as usual. I still have my issues with church, but one of the things I’ve missed over the last couple of years is this experience of being pursued. Three different people pursued me in one morning–a stranger, a new friend, and an old friend.
I think, at least for me, being pursued is one of the deepest longings we have. Being pursued indicates we are wanted, we are valued, and we have a connection to something larger than ourselves. I’ll admit that I’ve been pursued in the past for what I could give people, do for people, and be for people. The church does much of that kind of life-sucking pursuing as well. But I’m not talking about that kind of experience. Those who pursued me last week didn’t want anything from me. They wanted to give me something–an invitation, a thank-you, a greeting.
The church at it’s best pursues those on the fringe, the isolated, the peripheral, and the observationists in order to give them the gift of being loved and wanted.
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