Denver.  The Mile-High City, the Queen City of the Plains, Wall Street of the West.  There is something profound about looking to the West no matter where you are and seeing the snow-spattered Front Range steadfastly defying the flatness of the plains.

I have already been here for over a month, and it feels like a second home.  The air is crisp, the views are breathtaking, and the peer pressure to exercise is working.  I don’t know if it’s the lack of oxygen making me think it’s a good idea to run in 2 degree weather or the way the outdoors seem to call to you every spare moment, but I have never found sticking to a running plan so easy.

The church I am working with is another United Methodist Church – the second biggest in the West, so they say.  Yet, what strikes me about this congregation is not the size, but its commitment to service.

For instance, they have an ongoing circulation of “Just Care” bags containing the basic necessities for someone without a home (basic hygiene items, non-perishable foods, socks, etc.).  The idea is you just grab a couple when you’re at church, leave a few bucks, and then give the bag to the next person you pass on the street.  Simple, effective, and sustainable.

They also open up their church for one week per month to host struggling families that need a place to stay.  It’s part of Denver’s “Interfaith Hospitality Network,” and it really illustrates the power of people working together beyond religious differences for good.  Or try the Fair Trade coffee sales to support third-world farmers.  Or the $10 “Pay It Forward” food boxes that are constantly sent to area food banks.  Or the volunteer program for mentoring homeless youth in Denver.  Since my arrival, I have packed food boxes for the homeless, participated in Thanksgiving dinner provisions for the poor, made stockings to give to needy children…And I am probably doing the least of anyone in the church!

I had a calculus teacher in high school who hosted a country church in his backyard on Sundays.  He once told us that the meaning of life was service.  This has stuck with me, and I have come to believe that love is perhaps a more all-inclusive purpose.  But I think service remains the best manifestation of love.  By these standards, the church I am working with has impressed me with its envisioned role of caretaker of the needy.

Don’t get me wrong, though, the church cares for its own.  This is the first year of its brand new gigantic sanctuary, and it spends an exceptional amount of time on Christian education.  Whereas small groups define most churches I have seen, classes make up the majority of the congregation’s involvement here.  Some based on books, some on topics, some based on where you are in your own faith.  These are some well-informed Christians, to say the least.

Here’s the question, then:  How much of a church’s mission is to care for its congregation and how much of it is to serve others outside of the church?  I have seen a greater focus here on the second part of that formula, but plenty of people in the church still feel they spend too much time on internal affairs.  The sanctuary cost too much, or the music department has too much money, or the church meals happen too often.

This is a question for any community of faith, and I think most are caught in a some balancing act between caring for others and serving their members.

Is this how it should be?  Or is one of the two an unnecessary distraction from the real purpose of the church?

Next time I’ll share a bit about a group of people I met who have totally re-imagined the church’s purpose in a striking way, choosing one of these facets over the other.

Thoughts?