stumbling block or supporting structure - how your church fits you?

There is a delicate and living balance for each person to undertake between flow and control (the soccer referee analogy for officiating the game versus allowing play to carry on), or between fluency and accuracy (the foreign language learning analogy for stopping to look up each word, versus flowing along with some inaccuracies of hearing and speaking), or between knowledge and faith (the seminary analogy for those who overstudy the letter of the Bible versus the ones less well versed, but more in spirit of any given passage). In each instance one must find the sweet spot between too much structure, tradition, rules on the one hand and the absence of method, procedure, organization or structure on the other hand. Too much detail and structure can turn into obstacles that separate a person from seeking and loving God. Too little scaffolding or supporting structure can leave a person feeling in limbo; without direction or forward motion; without handholds or landmarks to steer by.

A similar balancing act on a very fine line is between socializing that is routine and comfortable, versus fellowship that is more purposive and geared to building rapport and trust enough to carry the weight of shared sorrow (or joy); that allows one person to open up to another and to express care. From the outside maybe it looks like the interactions of socializing and fellowship are indistinguishable, and yet what transpires in the heart may well be different.

Still another fine line separates the urge to make the public worship on Sundays as open and accessible to passers-by as possible (the door is open; the people are welcoming) and yet once on the road with Jesus and one's fellow travelers in righteousness, the "way is narrow" (or is it the gate is narrow?). That is to say, all are welcome, but the habits of a righteous heart can be exclusive and demanding; indeed few seem to follow fully or deeply for their long years.

In the end it is important for each person to discover how much structure and routine will guide them along their search for God's will and their love of fellow man. A church that creates obstacles and even stumbling blocks is not suitable for the person encumbered in such things. But those same conditions may well be the supporting structure that another person needs to grow strong in faith and deeds.