Creatures of Habit

     Yesterday our church service was focused on community and to help the body feel closer we rearranged the seating some.  In fact, we took out about 100 chairs.  This left only about 200 chairs and they were all closer to the front.  Our hope was that by removing those seats people would be forced to sit in a more compact area and we would feel closer to each other.
     Well, our plan worked.  With only 200 chairs we almost had them all filled and this meant that everyone was sitting close to someone else.  No one was alone.  It was a beautiful sight really...for the first time the church wasn’t separated by any lines.  Young, old, rich, poor, black and white all sat next to each other.  
     But, as you can imagine, some people were really thrown off by the whole thing.  After all, we are creatures of habit...and if you attend church on a regular basis you likely have “your” seat that you ALWAYS sit in.  For most, not having “their” seat was a minor inconvenience, but there were a few that really seemed bothered by it.  
     It’s funny really how something so small can really bother us when we are so good at tuning out much more major things.  
     Anyway...the seats will likely go back this week and people will once again be able to sit in “their” seat and possibly segregate themselves from the body.  At least we will be able to remember that one Sunday when we really were one body.