Detroit & Community

What a weekend. It was such a refreshing weekend, to stay with Wilkin and see what God is doing in the church there. It had be a long time since I have seen wilkin, and after arriving, I was suddenly struck with how privledged I have been to call Wilkin my friend. Here is a man who seemingly had a vision for what God wanted him to do. First it was just working and making a impact in the local neighborhood. He had always been drawn to the city, to help those who were less fortunate than him, and his goal was always clear, whether it was to learn carpentry, real estate for the express purpose of being a missionary either overseas or somewhere else. That is one of ths things that I admire about him is that he has this sense of where God is leading him, whereas in my life, this sense is lacking. To see him living in a small 2 bedroom apartment that optimistically is average and seeing that they are happy to be there, makes me think about my situation and where my life is going.

Wilkin's view on church ministry is really great. Kind of a bretheren type of church, where there is little separation between the laymen and the church staff. But one of the things that we talked about was how in large churches, there is that distinction of us vs. them and this construct makes it easier for the congregation to absolves itself of any responsibility for the church growth or church participation. A statement that Wilkin made that reverberated with me was that "if they are coming for the speaker, or the worship, then the church is in a difficult situation. The reason that they should be coming to the church is that they should see Christ in the congregation, not just in the speaker or worship team leader. the congregation should be the reason people come back, because it is in relationships that people are changed in a lasting manner, not in a great sermon here and there, or a awesome worship band that can play professionally (although there is an excellence in ALL that we do that we need to strive for in our service to God.)

The church itself is amazing. you walk in, and the first thing that you are greeted with is a large welcoming room with a staircase leading to the 2nd floor landing that wraps around the room. Beautiful, grand and full of exquisite detail. Turns out that this church building used to be the Dodge Family Mansion, complete with 3 levels and a walk up attic, along with a basement, a actual 350 person theater with stage, and a host of bedrooms, each with their own fireplace (they didn't have nice HVAC system then, so the fireplaces were their source of heat). Price Tag? $6,000. That's right, 6 G's. turns out in detroit, you can buy huge pieces of property out there because the city is so destitute. The best moment of it all? Sunday morning, during the sermon, the pastor says, "Don't seek after cars, cause cars will pass away. Money will pass away. But Christ does not pass away!" all this while standing in the family room of the Dodge Family Mansion that they bought for $6,000. Is there any better illustration than that?

All in all, it was such a good weekend, and it was actually refreshing for me.