Preservation or Sacrifice

Churches come in all shapes and sizes.  Some are known as mega churches and will provide spiritual care for thousands of people.  These churches refer to their spot on the globe as a campus and so many cars are coming and going that law enforcement shows up to direct the traffic after the benediction.  Some churches are very small and may be hard to find in the neighborhood, or the countryside they serve.  These small churches take up the space of a stamp on a postcard; and yet, they survive and serve.  

It is tempting sometimes to wonder if a church can be too big, or too small.  Are the massed gatherings at the larger churches there to be entertained by the holy glitz and are the few who gather in the small gatherings not much bigger than family just getting by until closing  time?  The only thing certain is that the folks in the larger church and the folks in the smaller church will declare their choice is best until Jesus comes.  The important thing, of course, is the way the church, large or small, stands in its space without being so married to it that it cannot sacrifice itself in behalf of the Christ who gave Himself up so willingly on the cross.  

One of the most dangerous dangers of any church is becoming institutionalized.  What is of first priority to any institution is the preservation of itself.  This is a danger for the large and the small church.  The spiritual community Jesus brought into being is not one turned toward preservation, but sacrifice.  The church of the day struggles in knowing and fleshing out the difference.