A faithful example to the family of God

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6:10)
 
On July 12th, 1992, NewLife Christian Fellowship held its first ever public worship service, at the Gallery Restaurant in Glastonbury. Since the second month of the church's existence, when they took over the responsibility from Ron and Eva Say, Jim and Dorothy Scrobko have faithfully prepared the communion elements and served the Lord and God’s people at NewLife by helping us to fulfill Jesus’ command to “do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). In fact, in those early days, communion was actually served from the bar at the Gallery, which, according to Dorothy, is a sign of God’s sense of humor.

Paul tells us that in 1 Corinthians 11:26 that “whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” I thank God for Jim and Dorothy’s faithful commitment to helping our church proclaim the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. As we receive the bread and the cup every month, we also receive Jesus’ body, broken for our sins, and His blood, poured out for our forgiveness. By his death on our behalf, we have all been adopted into His family as His beloved sons and daughters.

The kind of faithfulness to one family of believers displayed by Jim and Dorothy these past 29 years at NewLife is becoming rarer and rarer. I find our world to be increasingly marked by endless options and restless transience. Thanks in large part to the internet, we have more options open to us than ever before. The days of living in one home, working for one company, and attending one church are antiquated ideas for most people. In its place, I find a growing restlessness, accompanied by great anxiety, affecting younger generations, as they worry that they are missing out on a more perfect mate, job, or church. As a result, transience has become the norm, as people continually bounce around, searching for the perfect fit for them.

Personally, I prefer the perspective of the 19th century British preacher Charles Spurgeon, who said, “The day we find the perfect church, it becomes imperfect the moment we join it.” Like any family, our church is full of warts and characters. There are parts of our history that are cringeworthy, and struggles we still have today that just don’t seem to go away. But the joy of this church family is watching people like Jim and Dorothy in the kitchen, faithfully preparing the communion elements, hearing the rustle of the garbage bag as Jim goes around collecting the empty cups, and then seeing the two of them walk out to their car together with that big blue bin after another Sunday spent helping their brothers and sisters draw near to Jesus. I know there are churches out there with more inspired preaching, flashier worship teams, and more exciting programs to offer, but this is my family, and I thank God for them.