Admiral James Stockdale faced the nation at the vice-presidential debate in October 1992. Businessman Ross Perot named him as his running mate, so Stockdale stood with Vice President Dan Quayle and Sen. Al Gore in Atlanta. When it was his first time to speak, Stockdale said, “Who am I? Why am I here?”
This turned out to be a laugh line and parody, which is unfortunate. Stockdale was a decorated soldier who spent seven years as a POW in Vietnam. But his questions are good ones for us in the church since we need to constantly remind ourselves of our purpose.
Pastors often talk about the “three B’s” in the New Testament: the church is a bride, a body and a building; thus, these analogies speak of relationship, dependency and mission.
Some have suggested that the church can further be understood with another analogy--a “city of refuge.”
The Lord instructed Moses to establish six cities of refuge in Canaan where those guilty of manslaughter (unpremeditated murder) might flee and be safe until cooler heads prevailed. Moses’s successor, Joshua, carried out this plan after the Hebrews entered the land. The six cities are almost perfectly and geometrically placed both east and west of the Jordan River. We’d like to know more about these cities, but this is basically all scripture tells us.
If the church is a city of refuge, then it must be a place where those who messed up can come, be safe and be helped.
The church as a city of refuge wouldn’t seek to compound guilt. Guilt isn’t the job of the church. Jesus clearly said the Holy Spirit would convict the world of sin (John 16:8). The church’s job is to point all of us sinners to the path of repentance and relationship.
The church as a city of refuge would seek to be a source of encouragement. Thoreau said, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation, and go to the grave with the song still in them.” If this be true, the church has great opportunity to declare to desperate people, “You’ll get through this. God will help you and we will help you.”
The church as a city of refuge would be a place where restoration is a reality. We accomplish many and varied ministries in the church, but none is as noble as salvaging broken people
A prominent pastor called in church leaders some years ago and held his resignation letter in hand.
“My teen-aged daughter is pregnant, and I’ve lost all moral authority,” he said.
But these leaders refused his offer.
“We love you and your family and we’ll get through this,” they said.
This church was a city of refuge
