NEW YORK (RNS) Eighteen months ago, when our recovery ministry was getting off the ground, a veteran of such a ministry visited from Richmond, Va., and told us simply: “Your job is to be there every Sunday.”
She told us to be a fellowship of peace and purpose where people in recovery from addiction can learn how to make “conscious contact with God — through prayer and meditation, singing and mutual support. The word will spread, she said.
Be there even when it’s difficult. Be radically welcoming. Give the best you can. “Do the work,” as our gospel choir sings at Park Avenue Christian Church, which hosts Lifeline recovery ministry. In a world where people talk constantly, just do the work. If people find help in their recoveries, they will bring others.
Turns out she was right.
Last Sunday, we had to set up extra chairs. People who had arrived tense and withdrawn a few weeks ago opened up and sang joyfully. Friends brought friends. “I’m telling everyone I know,” said an alcoholic nearing 90 days of sobriety. “This is an oasis,” said another.
To people like myself who talk and write for a living, just doing the work can seem counterintuitive. Letting God grow the harvest isn’t easy. But then comes the realization that God’s desire is sufficient. It is God who transforms lives.
In like manner, a roomful of church leaders gathered recently at Trinity Episcopal Church, in downtown Manhattan, to discuss the Occupy Wall Street movement and how they could help this youth-led protest against economic dysfunction, corruption and injustice.
Their answer: stop talking, and start doing. Don’t try to be in charge, just be of assistance. Don’t fall into the delusion that this movement needs religion in a central role. Just provide food, toilets, communications help, and encouragement. Let a freed people find their own way.
Too often church folks are like the Pharisees with whom Jesus jousted. We talk well, and can teach and preach capably. Within our walls, we soar and sing. But then we do little. We don’t get outside ourselves to join hands with people in the marketplace.
“They do not practice what they preach,” Jesus said of the Pharisees. And that?s why they couldn’t be trusted. Their words became an oppressive burden on people whom God wanted to free.
Recent surveys suggest that this is how modern-day Christians are viewed, as well. “All hat, no cattle,” as they say. Too much arguing, too much concern for being right, too much judging of others. There are too many symbolic gestures and not enough transformation of life.
Faith will be known by its fruits, not by its promotional literature. Piety without practice is hypocrisy. Spirituality without transformation of life proves empty. Clever slogans cannot mask tepid stewardship. Sweet smiles cannot hide malice. Mission statements and business plans cannot cover up laziness and self-serving behavior.
A well-worded creed, thoughtful prayers, sound preaching and excellent music cannot breathe life into troubled lives if eyes are cold, hearts closed, hands grasping, and conviction absent.
“Do justice,” our gospel choir sang on Sunday. Don’t just talk about it. “Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with God” — do the work, put prayer into practice, be there for the needy, give hand and heart to God, let God grow the harvest.
(Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest based in New York. He is the author of “Just Wondering, Jesus” and founder of the Church Wellness Project. His website is http://www.morningwalkmedia.com. Follow Tom on Twitter @tomehrich.)