I have often heard the saying, “A church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.” While I understand the meaning behind it, I still wonder about its significance and perhaps its implication. How do we perceive this statement and how do we engage those that come through our doors? When I think of this statement, I am reminded that we all have sinned and yet we are saved by grace, but as simple as it may be there is so much heaviness in the thought of a sinner receiving care in a “hospital.”
Perhaps the concept of hospital care has changed.
After spending several weeks in the hospital visiting members and caring for a parent, I have come to a few conclusions. The first conclusion is that people who often enter the hospital will leave alive. Whether or not they are in need of acute care, the conclusion is that they leave alive after a period of treatment and time for stable recovery. The second conclusion is that many people who enter may leave the hospital dead. Lastly, not all hospitals are created equal. In the Little Rock area alone each hospital is known for a specific type of care that they offer. For example there is the Arkansas Heart Hospital which only treats persons with cardiovascular issues. University of Arkansas Medical Sciences Hospital offers treatment with the understanding that its primary function is research and training of nurses and doctors.
When I think of the phrase, “A church is a hospital for sinners.” I am reminded that perhaps the church should not be a place where people linger around waiting to get better or patched up, but to be healed and released into the world. In a hospital one receives treatment, a diagnosis, and is then released to recover at home. The severity of one’s condition can be on a notice of stable to critical. The reality of care now in our current method of hospital care is that no one stays there throughout their recovery time. But once they are stable they are released and sent home for further care.
If our churches are hospitals for sinners then perhaps we need to reconfigure the way we approach those who come to our “hospitals” seeking saving grace and seeking treatment for the things that have afflicted them. When I think of hospitals there are tiers of care that patients receive. Perhaps our churches should re-think how we care for those in our midst instead of finding a one size fits all solution.
It saddens me to think that while there will be those who enter through the doors of my congregation who will not receive the adequate care they need. Not because we are not willing, but because in many cases we are not equipped.
So what is the solution to treating those newcomers and even caring for those there now? For our current members, we must get them healthy enough so that they are willing to go and create clinics (outreach) in the community. Because of the healing that they have received they will go out and live in their community seeking to bring wholeness to those who are sick. For those who come to our doors wounded and broken, we must be willing to make proper diagnoses and care for those that we can. However, we must realize that some cases may call for acute care. If we are not fully equipped to provide the care needed, will we lay aside our pride to transfer our patients to places where they can receive the proper care?
The thoughts I leave with you today is 1) How are you caring for those in your midst? 2) Are you providing them the care that they need? If you are not, are you willing to allow them to find care somewhere else?
Great post, Natasha! I like the way you unpack the analogy and link it to reaching outside of ourselves. 2 thoughts for further reflection:
What would it mean for our ministry to take seriously the team-based, collaborative approach many hospitals are using in patient care. 1) with regard to how we provide care in the congregation. And 2) With a view to forming partnerships with other care providers.
I agree and thanks for the push back. I believe in team models and even the coding that takes place because each team member understands their role and function. After spending time with members and family the role of each department is vital and the specialization of each department is important as well. The problem is that small membership congregations like mine try to be everything to everybody. Partnerships in small towns are less likely to form because of past history. But! We must push to make that possible and not get frustrated when people insist on being isolated.