– Kim R. Smith, Sound District Lay Leader
Now that the voice of Tina Turner is in your head and probably singing those famous lyrics written by Terry Britten and Graham Lyle, we can join our hearts in the exploration of what love has to do with anything! Why are we investing time, money, and energy into an emotion that can quite possibly leave us heartbroken.
“(What’s love got to do) ooh, got to do with it?
(What’s love? A second-hand emotion)
What’s love got to do, got to do with it?
Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken?
(What’s love) ooh-ooh (got to do with it?) got to do with it?”
This past week, I sat with women I adore, and we made old-fashioned boxes of Valentines for widows and those who are shut-ins. As we began to deliver them, stops that we thought might take five minutes, turned into 45 minutes of hearts connecting in meaningful ways. It wasn’t about the candy filled boxes at all, it was about the intentional effort to connect.
Some of the boxes were delivered to women who are currently “wandering” due to the disaffiliation of their home churches. My heart broke quite honestly at those stops. It was hard not to lament what we have all lost over the past several months. I know new and beautiful things are on the horizon! I have seen God at work in my own church in new and exciting ways. Still, the tendency is to look back at what we’ve lost in this moment in time. Christian hearts continue to debate the definition of love when we should be united in modeling it for this broken world. Many of those hearts who are “wandering” are asking if they ever want to risk their hearts being broken in that way ever again. The part that creeps into the tattered pieces of my own heart, is that so many do not see to realize the hurt and pain these decisions have caused for so many.
This morning, I read an open letter by a man named Johnny Burleson to his home church where he was raised. The church that taught him about Jesus and that taught him how to love and how to be the human he is in life now. Johnny was urging his home church to simply love. He spoke of the love he had discovered as an adult at Haywood Street UMC in Asheville. I knew right then, that his soul AND my soul…shared the same definition of love. Love has everything to do with EVERYTHING. Everything begins AND ends with love because God is love and He is the beginning and the end of everything. It seems so simple…to me anyway.
Haywood Street UMC, is getting love very right. The day I visited you couldn’t tell the millionaires form the homeless in most cases. The pastor was in the thick of the work. It was evident that there was no hierarchy of importance in this place. The building wasn’t their pride and joy, it was the vessel they used to serve. Every inch of it including that famous Fresco painting, told a story. Every heart was welcomed. Every heart was loved. It was truly the most amazing experience of my life, and I was simply wandering that day myself. Walking down the streets of Asheville with ten or so homeless men helping me find my way, I have no doubt God placed my feet there that day to let me know I am not crazy in fighting for my definition of love…the one His word taught me.
I needed to see what a church that defines love in the way my heart does, looks like in action to believe it was actually still possible. God is amazing because he showed me in full and living color. I felt His presence as I watched a couple cut and design flowers for the altar from the community garden. I witnessed humility as the pastor helped a homeless man with his shoes in the most compassionate way imaginable. With my face raised to the summer sun, I could almost see Jesus Christ walking through this crowded space of eclectic hearts and loving every minute of this special place.
When I chatted with someone about how they kept the congregation and the staff motivated because the enormity of the homeless population in that area is staggering, she paused and took a deep breath. With a smile on her lips and tears in her eyes, she simply said…”We are called to love. We love God, we love each other, and we love our neighbors. It’s not that complicated really.”
That day I said, “Amen.” Today I will say it again…”Amen and Amen.” It’s not that complicated really. We are called to love. If your definition of love has left your heart in tatters and wandering, look for a “Lighthouse Congregation” and walk through those doors. Human hearts will be waiting with all of their imperfections to help you find a way to serve, to grow, to heal, and to love in forward motion. If your church is ready to love in forward motion and help others do the same, visit Lighthouse Congregations | The United Methodist Collective of North Carolina (nccumc.org) and consider becoming a Lighthouse Congregation.
Finding people who are busy loving the way Christ loves us, is worth the risk of being heartbroken. Remember that a whole lot of light and beauty can find a way through the cracks and shattered pieces. Look for the light and the love of those who believe it’s not that complicated.
“When the Pharisees heard how he had bested the Sadducees, they gathered their forces for an assault. One of their religion scholars spoke for them, posing a question they hoped would show him up: “Teacher, which command in God’s law is the most important?” Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs on them.” – Matthew 22: 34-40 MSG