Years ago I heard the soup, salad, sandwich theory. If you are not aware of this, it is simply that every food finds itself in the category of soup, salad or sandwich.
There are various versions of the theory that can destroy your afternoon if you decide to chase them down this rabbit hole…but essentially it is as simple as this.
Soups are liquids.
Salads are things tossed together.
Sandwiches are food contained within an edible container.
Here are some examples.
Coffee. Hot bean soup.
Milk Shake. Cold milk soup.
Spaghetti with bolognese. Hot meat and noodle salad.
Trail Mix. Fruit and nut salad.
Sushi. Rice and fish sandwich.
Pizza. Open face pepperoni sandwich.
Try this discussion with your family or friends. It will undoubtedly turn into an interesting debate.
Listen. You either just read that list and smiled…or you have a very strong opinion on those and you have stopped reading to compose a strongly worded email refuting my opinion…that wasn’t the point…the point is.
Food is not meant to be reduced down to basic categories like that. When we do this, as funny as it is…we remove the nuanced nature of food. When we remove how food is more complicated and complex, we remove the joy…and food suddenly becomes no fun. That’s why this is a fun or funny exercise, because it is ridiculous to do.
As followers of Jesus, the last thing he told his disciples…which is extended to us as well, was to go.
It was to share.
It was to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God.
His entire ministry was living out the kingdom of God.
It was proclaiming good news to the poor and liberty to the captives, to recover sight to the blind, and to set free the oppressed while he proclaimed the year of the Lord’s favor.
This great reversal that Jesus was demonstrating was moving things towards shalom.
Towards peace.
Towards what God intends and desires.
And he is inviting us to be a part of this great work.
That was Jesus’ mission and that is our mission as well. If we remove this earth transforming commission from Jesus with its nuanced calling using all our gifts as the body of Christ to do our unique and specific part, we remove the joy…and faith in Jesus or being a Christian becomes no fun. It is reduced to a box we check that we believe.
That’s not what Jesus was inviting us into. That is a ridiculous and heartbreaking misunderstanding.
Jesus invited us to join him in the transformation of the world…if we remove that portion of our calling, we miss the whole thing.
Missionary Gailyn Van Rheenen said,
“Mission is the very lifeblood of the church. As the body cannot survive without blood, so the church cannot survive without mission. Without blood the body dies; without mission the church dies. As the physical body becomes weak without sufficient oxygen-carrying red blood cells, so the church becomes anemic if it does not express its faith. The church . . .establishes its rationale for being—its purpose for existing—while articulating its faith. An unexpressed faith withers. A Christian fellowship without mission loses its vitality. Mission is the force that gives the body of Christ vibrancy, purpose, and direction. When the church neglects its role as God’s agent for mission, it is actually neglecting its own lifeblood.”
I want to be the kind of people who make a difference in the world…not for me or my name, but by joining in with what God is already doing.
I once was part of a team that had a phrase, “Better for being here”.
We wanted the community we were in to be better because we were there. We did not tear the community down, but lifted it up and improved it.
We also wanted the team we were on to be better because we were a part of it. We were able to bring our unique gifts and talents to help the team grow and thrive.
And, we wanted personally to be better for being a part of this team. We grew as individuals because we were there.
I want, as the body of Christ, the church, to hold that same truth. “Better for being here”.
If the church suddenly disappeared, would it be missed?
Would people say that things were better because we were here?
I want us to be better because we are here, doing a great work.
Missions in this world should make the world a better place.
Missions should make the ones they serve better people.
Missions should make the missionary a better person.
We are all better when we serve, when we love, when we are generous and hospitable, when we are gracious and sacrificial, when we live out the good news of Jesus with what we say and what we do.
The death of the church, the downfall of faith, may not actually be some sort of outside force overpowering the body of Christ. It may actually be dying from the inside. Simply because we stopped caring for others and started only looking out for ourselves.
I shared this in my sermon yesterday, but it is worth repeating. Dietrich Bonhoeffer,the pastor, theologian, and outspoken critic of Hitler and the nazi movement, who ultimately died in a concentration camp for doing those things wrote from his prison cell in 1944, just months before his death,
“The church is the church only when it exists for others…The church must share in the secular problems of ordinary human life, not dominating, but helping and serving”
Let us help.
Let us serve.
Let us care about the everyday problems of ordinary human life.
We can do that by kindly and lovingly not existing for ourselves, but existing for others.
For the glory of God and the good of others.
Join us as we continue to turn inside out for others and take the good news of God to the ends of the earth.
A few quick announcements you need to know…
- Like always, we have prayer at noon tomorrow and every Tuesday at The Chapel. It is a lovely time where The Chapel partners with 30A Prays and we get to spend about 60 minutes simply to pray and be with God in the beautiful Chapel. It’s not fancy or formal. Come and go as you need.
- Bible studies are back and up and going. Our Men’s Study on Wednesday meets from 8am-9am, remember the new time. And the Women’s Study on Wednesday meets 9:30am-10:30/11am. We will study the book of Exodus in both of those Wednesday studies. Our young adult/20’s and 30’s group meets on Thursday mornings 8am-9:15am. They are also studying Exodus.
- We are excited to share we have a new addition to our sermon podcast called “Chapel Study Notes”. It will be a Bible Study Recap led by me and Sarah team teaching what we covered in the previous week’s Bible Study. The newest podcast is accessible on Spotify here, Apple Podcast here, or wherever you stream.
- This Sunday is the first Sunday of the month so we will be sharing in communion at 9am before the normal service. Join us for a brief communion service, just 15 minutes or so, then our normal service at 10am. We’ll have some coffee and pastries between the services.
- As you know, this weekend is a long holiday weekend and will be our last big weekend as we officially “closeout” the summer. So it will be a full house. Just a few quick reminders about parking.
- Parking around here can be a challenge, but here are a few thoughts to make it as easy as possible.
- Free parking is available at Seaside/Watercolor Public Parking Lot on the west end of Seaside and east end of Watercolor just off of 30A. 20 Western Lake Dr, Santa Rosa Beach, FL. It is just a short walk away from the beach or The Chapel.
- On 30A there are some free spots on the Northside of the road and likely will have room early in the day.
- In Seaside, around the Lyceum on Smolian Circle and a few other areas around town there are paid parking options.
- Seaside also offers a shuttle service that picks up on 331 near The Bay restaurant. For more info on the shuttle, click here.
- Of course walking, biking, riding with friends and family are all great options on Sunday if you can make those work.
- Please do not park in places that say “No Parking”, in front of people’s home, or in places that require a permit. We do not want you to get a ticket or get one of those lovely yellow scallops that look like a giant Hungry Howie box. It is no fun leaving worship and finding one of those on your car. Finally, we all want to be great neighbors in our community.
- If you are out of town, under the weather, or just need to worship from home, you can watch our live-stream on our website, thechapelatseaside.com, on our Facebook page, Facebook.com/TheChapelAtSeaside and our Vimeo page, Vimeo.com/thechapelatseaside.
- We’ll be closing out the Priorities series this Sunday, September 1st and we’re excited to have Branden Campbell back with us on Sunday, September 8th.
Save some upcoming dates. More details to come.
- Sunday, September 22nd – Ice Cream Social in the late afternoon
- Sunday, October 6th – Beach Bonfire
- Sunday, October 20th – Chapel Lunch
- Sunday, November 20th – Night of Worship
Let us know if you have any questions and we look forward to seeing you this week.
Blessings.
Andrew