I just returned from (probably the 30th annual) Bryan family get together on Hilton Head Island. The sands of the Low Country have rich memories for us. Weddings (2), engagements (1), bowls of ice cream (infinite), and etc. Getting the family together (all 27 of us this year) feels almost ... holy. This is sacred time.
This weekend a regional camp meeting takes place on the campus of Walla Walla University. This is an annual religious gathering where there will be music, preaching, classes, and etc. The real value, I think, is in the gathering. That people are coming together, for a shared purpose.
Next week I head to Atlanta, GA for an international gathering--one that happens every five years. The General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Once again, meetings, music, preaching, teaching, etc. and etc. But the greatest value, for me, is in the actual act of gathering.
The Old Testament mandates all kinds of gatherings for the Jewish people. Convocations, pilgrimages, worship services, festivals. Human beings getting together is a big deal to God. There is powerful symbolism in coming together. There is something about ritualized reunions that count. In an age where house churches and anti-establishment talk is "all the rage" I wonder if what we need is NOT fewer organizations, denominations, or gatherings. What we need it BETTER organizations, denominations, and gatherings. We need Great Groups. We need get-togethers that "get it."
Ours is not the era of dying interest in denominations, fading desire for family, and over-it attitudes toward organizational life. Instead, I believe, we are longing for GREATER groups. We hope for reasons to congregate that really count. We long to be together, in beauty, truth, and love. We are hungry for the best convocations ever. And so we need renewed, revamped connecting times. From church services to town halls, from family dinner tables to neighborhood BBQs ... let's picnic together.
