well, yeah. But it's for the kids.

I heard the Holy Spirit speak today. The exact words were: "Well, yeah. But it's for the kids."

The church we attend (or serve) has an preschool and elementary school as our biggest ministry. Church schools are a good thing in general, and I don't think so just because I'm the product of a church elementary school. But sometimes, indeed more often than we might like, the church/school relationship isn't happy. You hear muttered phrases like "those people" who are taking up "OUR space." Across the country, last time I checked into statistics, something like 5% of school parents are also members of the church that runs the school.

Schools and churches are, in some ways, fundamentally different communities, with different goals. Schools are about learning: math, reading, science, music. They're very structured. Churches, on the other hand, sometimes function with little to no structure whatsoever. Churches are about reconciliation, repentance, covenant relationships, worship. Christian Education is a fundamental part of what churches do, but not the signal purpose of the community.

It's all too easy for that relationship to be like two ships passing in the night, since the two rarely share the same space at the same time.

But, I'm happy to say, not here. We threw a gala fundraiser tonight. You know the drill: auction items, dinner, a little entertainment (in this case, the auctioneer himself). You have to do fundraisers, because church schools do not and should not make any significant profit.

And church familes came. By the tableful. And gave lots of money to the school.

I overheard the same conversation at least five times.
Mary: did you bid on anything?
Joe: we bid on [basketball tickets/handprint art/bottles of wine/etc]
Mary: Oh, that was you? That's a lot of money for [what you bought].
Joe: Well, yeah. But it's for the kids.