“Everybody deserves a second, second chance.”

Michael Scott, main character of the hit comedy series The Office and boss of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, said this of one of his most troublesome employees, Ryan Howard. This quote, along with many others, shows the tender and forgiving heart that Michael had for his staff.

The Office is a special show and there’s a lot to learn from it. One of the main things is that there is “a lot of beauty in ordinary things,” which is what one of the other lead characters, Pam Halpert, said in the show’s finale. In this everyday, regular paper company, there was so much joy and fun to be found.

In many ways, this show serves as an example that no matter what your regular daily life consists of, you can find joy with the people around you. In The Office, Michael Scott, the boss, was often the leader in helping the employees of the office find joy. Sometimes when things were somber, Michael would call a meeting in the conference room. He’d have little to no direction for the meeting, other than bringing everyone together to get some laughs going.

The thing that I find really special about Michael is his innocence. By most standards, Michael is a dummy. He is often looking for attention, saying stupid things, or causing trouble. But the thing about this strange boss is that he was genuinely pure in heart. He believed in his own best intentions. In his mind, he was a good boss who loved his employees. In fact, he never saw them as employees, but as family. In the final season he returned and warmly said of all of Dunder Mifflin’s staff, “I feel like all my kids grew up and then they married each other.” This shows that at the end of the day, Michael felt like he was their dad, revealing the love and warmth that he felt for them.

Michael repeatedly would make the point that for him, his job was never about “business.” He told Ryan that it was all about “people.” Because “people never go out of business,  Ryan.” Michael had a good heart and that’s one of the reasons that countless people are attracted to show.

I believe that Michael Scott and The Office can actually be inspiration for church. When we think about church, we should think innocently. Like Michael, we should have a pure heart, and try to find the fun and the joy in it.

Ultimately, church isn’t primarily about business (though you need tithes to keep the lights on), but about people. Yes, there are meetings and small groups, worship services and outreaches. And these things are the things that churches are supposed to do. But within all of these activities, it’s really about the joy and fun of being with people. As my pastor told me, at the end of your life you don’t look back and think primarily about what you did, but who you did it with.

In that regard, Jesus Christ is our true Michael Scott. He has the warmth of the Father in his heart towards us. He innocently thinks that all of us are special. He has a pure heart about each of us. And he continually finds the joy and fun in our lives on a day to day basis. Though we are “ordinary,” Christ finds the beauty in us.

In one of my favorite episodes, Michael actually had a chance to go to church for the christening of Pam’s baby. He noticed how friendly everybody was, greeting one another with joy and love. He quickly joined in on the action. He then told the camera, “Call it  the Holy Spirit or the passion of the Christ, I am loving these people!” Michael fit right in at church.

It’s our honor to be a part of the body of Christ, and the local church. The people that we do church with are all special, regardless of how difficult they might be at times. In the end, there’s something remarkably innocent, pure, and beautiful about church. Our boss, Jesus, isn’t really a boss in His heart. He’s a Father.