On the one hand, we should never equate the “church” with the building at the corner of College Street and Glenn Avenue. We might even go to great lengths to separate the two. The “church” is a group of people, rather than, bricks and mortar. We might borrow the words of the apostle Paul, referring to the church as the body of Christ, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12). We might even be so careful as to not say, “we are going to church” because “we are the church.” We do not equate the “church” with a building because we can lose sight of our identity as the “body of Christ.”
On the other hand, the building at the corner of College Street and Glenn Avenue is an important aspect of who we are as the “body of Christ.” It is the place where we worship and study, opening our lives up to the presence of God. It is the place where we celebrate the Lord’s Table, remembering the grace of God yet again and offering the welcome of God to others. It is our place of hope when we feel despair, forgiveness as we confess our sins, and quiet in the midst of a noisy world. It is a place, which sends us out, to serve the needs of others. The building of the church is a sacred place of reverence and God’s hospitality.
Every time we gather at the corner of College Street and Glenn Avenue, the rooms are ready, the table is set, and the place is prepared. For those things, we are grateful largely to Jada Butler, who tends to our facilities each week. She prepares the place that means so much to who we are.
On January 21, 2018, Jada will celebrate her 15th Anniversary at Auburn First Baptist Church. She has done so much for us throughout the years, which is integral to the place where we gather, worship, study, and serve. It is impossible to measure her impact on our community of faith. We offer our thanksgiving for the many ways in which she has set the stage for ministry and worship. When we see Jada at the church in the upcoming weeks, let us verbalize our gratitude. If anyone would like to write Jada a card, those cards can be brought to the church office.
-Tripp