“You shall not steal.” Exodus 20:15 NRSV
Seems easy enough right? We’re taught at a very early age not to take anything that’s not ours.
Why is it not so easy with church? We live in an age where everyone’s got the best idea on how to do church. It worked for them so they’re going to develop a conference, book, seminar, how-to-model, etc. so that you can do it just like they did. Whoa…isn’t that stealing?
Okay, maybe to call that stealing is a little intense, but…don’t we have minds of our own? Can’t we call upon the image of the creator inside of us to help us become creative?
So even though something is working for some other church out there, it doesn’t mean it’s going to be right for the community of believers I’m a part of. Can I learn from other communities and churches? Absolutely. Is there a difference between learning and stealing? Absolutely. Did God create us to be creative, even in terms of how we do church? For sure.
May we strive to reflect the image of the creator.
