At church, my six-year-old son’s Sunday School teachers talk about the importance of being respectful in the building since church is a holy space. Their lessons go beyond just reciting rules — like be quiet during the service, no running in the hallways, no taking money from the offering plate and no throwing toys across the room. His teachers did a much better job by providing a theological foundation to the idea.
Brian Kaylor“God lives at church,” my son echoes often as we head to church.
While it’s true God is and lives everywhere, I don’t quibble with his statement since I agree that we should view church as particularly holy ground (and I would like him to learn to sit still and remain quiet somewhere, so might as well start at church). Learning to respect God and learning to be aware of God’s presence are important lessons, so I’m glad my son is pondering these. Too often it seems we’ve lost our sense of how to respect sacred space.
When school’s not in session, my son will often go to the Word&Way offices with me, which are located in the church we attend (First Baptist Church in Jefferson City, Mo.). In fact, he has his own little desk and chair over in one corner, which is usually — though not always — the messier side of the office.
His “work” there includes coloring pictures of Spider-Man and some villains, watching movies on a tablet, pestering Ken Satterfield in the office next door or throwing toys across the room (or even combining those last two items, though sometimes I think Ken starts it).
One day as we drove across town to my office, his chatter in the backseat turned to the subject of what we would do during our day. He noted we were heading to church, quickly adding that “church is where God lives.” He added mater-of-factly that Word&Way is at church. Then, with a sudden flash of revelation, he exclaimed, “God works at Word&Way!”
I chuckled. But the more I thought about it, I like the ring of that. God does, indeed, work at Word&Way (as well as many other places, of course). My business card may say “editor & president ,” but our very name reminds us who is really boss: the one who is the Word and the Way.
I truly believe God is at work at and through Word&Way. Our calling is to provide real news that leads back to the Good News. This is what we’ve been doing for 122 years. This rich heritage handed down through generations of Midwest Baptists is one that we at Word&Way do not take for granted.
Much has changed since our founding in 1896. But through all the changes — new editors, new format, new looks, new offices — this mission would not continue without the faithful support of the thousands who pray, subscribe and donate. As a tax-exempt nonprofit, we rely on the support of our readers and donors.
When you give to Word&Way, you join us in this ministry. By giving, you become part of the team to accurately inform Baptists and others of relevant news, to promote the work of Christ and to encourage inspirational living.
You can mail your contributions to PO Box 1771, Jefferson City, Mo. 65102-1771. Or you can give online at simplechurchgiving. net/wordandway. A nice feature of the online giving is you can create an account and then start an automatic monthly gift so you don’t even have to remember to give again. I spend enough of my bandwidth trying to keep track of my son and his toys all over the room, so I like that my giving goes through without extra work or thought.
As I type these words in my Word&Way office, let me say thank you for making this work possible.
Brian Kaylor is editor & president of Word&Way.