An open letter to the Quarry - on our last Sunday

It is hard to believe that we have been part of the Quarry for 5 years. We have seen a lot of things happen to this church and upon our move I find myself reflecting on this time.

Cooper has spent some of his most formative years in the church growing from a toddler to a boy. Lincoln was born during this time. Days after his birth was my first KidStuf with Michael.

I remember when we first started attending the Quarry regularly and Michael asking us if we came from a similar church.

The truth is that the church we left in Illinois was quite the opposite of the Quarry. It was an older church with an older building and the congregational makeup was older. It had a choir and sang from hymnals. We loved that church and there was one similarity we found between that church and the Quarry and it is why we called the Quarry home. Both had a people searching for ways to serve God and be part of His kingdom plan.

No matter what kind of music the church plays, no matter where it meets this is the one thing I hope and pray the Quarry never looses. Being a people continually searching out ways to connect to God and be part of His plan.

The truth is the style of music we do at the Quarry is not the style of music I would choose for a Sunday morning. But we cannot shop for churches the way we shop for a car. Looking for all the elements and features we desire and make us comfortable. If the primary reason you are at the Quarry is because of the music, or the preaching, or KidStuf, it is my prediction that you will not be there for long. Maybe a year, maybe 2, but something will let you down, something better will come along and you will move on. None of these things (the music, preaching) is bad, but they cannot be the reason you are at church.

This is one of my biggest fears with our emphasis on the Sunday service. It has been said that you win people to what you win them with. It is my fear that at times we are creating church consumers.

Anytime I have had concerns or suggestions about the way we function as a church, something coming from our pulpit or other areas of our church I have always felt comfortable taking those to the leadership. Sometimes they have lead to changes, sometimes not. I always felt my job was not to change the church, but to share my thoughts, observations and concerns to those running the church. I hope (although I am sure it has not always been so) that I have done so with humility and grace, knowing that I may be the one in the wrong.

No matter how passionate my concerns or the disagreements, I have always felt our leaders are seeking God in the midst. And we have always remained brothers and sisters in Christ.

I think it is very important that no matter the passion or the calling we feel from God that we are to see each other as brothers and sisters in Christ and love and serve each other. If we who claim to follow the Prince of Peace who work out our salvation with fear and trembling cannot get along despite our differences, then how can anyone get along? If we claim to follow the one that taught us to love our enemies and we cannot even love each other we will chase people from God.

This is one of the reasons it is so important to be part of each others lives. Our slogan (for lack of a better word) at the Quarry has been “We Do Life Together.” I used to joke that it should be something like “We (hope to someday) Do Life Together.” There are glimpses of it in our church and ironically for me, now that we are leaving I am as close as I have ever been to actually living that out. But it is vitally important that we keep that goal in front of us, striving toward it.

It goes against our very individualistic western culture and it is messy, but in the end it is part of what we are called to be. The church has a role in trying to make achieving it accessible to everyone and providing a framework and opportunities for it to arise. Ultimately, however, it is going to take the conscious choice of individuals to live this way.

So there it is. My thoughts and observations, my hopes and fears and my prayers for the Quarry. Know that any mistakes I have made or any problems I have caused along the way come from my own arrogance and other failings, but never out of a desire to see the church be anything less than an active and fruitful expression of God’s kingdom. The Quarry has left it’s fingerprint of the Welches, hopefully the fingerprints we have left on the Quarry have not smudged up the windows.