This has been a very exciting adventure. Just when I think I know what my life is all about, God reminds me that He has a much more exciting life for me than I would have ever dreamed up. I was sure I would retire from teaching music in school, but through a series of years, opportunities, decisions, prayer, seeking, passions, and experiences, I have discovered that that was just one leg of my journey. Last year, God brought me to an intersection and turned me in a new direction. I have seen a new horizon and am excited about the new terrain. I see places I have never been before, but am not worried, because He is driving. It would be pointless for me to make the decisions, because I don't know where I am going.
Every once in a while, however, I marvel at the fact that I have been brought along this particular path of life in order to pick up certain skills and knowledge along the way that I would need for later in life. When something new comes along that I need to know how to do, I usually find myself saying, "Hey, I know how to do that because of this unexpected stop I had to make earlier in the trip." Many times, I come into contact with someone, who miraculously has just the knowledge or experience I need to accomplish a task or goal. Why do I continue to fool myself by thinking that I am in charge of my life. I gave it to Jesus. I am now being led along a pre-determined route and I just need to keep making the turns and the stops as He leads. It has brought me on an incredible trip so far. If you don't know what I'm talking about, switch places and let God drive.
The most amazing part is the incredible path that I see when I look back. An amazingly complex and purposeful series of links that brought me to where I am today. So, I am looking ahead for the next part of the journey, but continue to marvel at what I see when I take a few minutes to look back over my shoulder.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Living Church
I attended a conference this weekend which really opened my eyes to some of the ways I have viewed church and the Christian life. Some friends in ministry shared that they weren't sure if they would attend the conference because it seemed like it was going to be a lot of stuff for the new generation. In a way they were right, but the ideas presented were nearly 2000 years old.
The "One21" Forum was an amazing reminder that we can reach 21st century culture if we return to 1st century ways of sharing Jesus. I've heard a lot of talk about "missional" and "convergent" churches and making our message "relevant" to the world today, but I had never really taken the time to understand the whole idea. I am glad I did this weekend. Sometimes we can get so tied up in our church buildings and programs and trying to get people to "come to church" that we forget to go "into the world" to share the gospel, making disciples and baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are discovering more and more that the world is "coming to the church" less and less and we need to meet people where they are. Over and over in the Bible we see people sharing with other people, meeting their needs and sharing the good news of the salvation offered through Jesus.
I especially was interested in those who talked about making connections in the workplace, school, and other places in the culture we live in. How often we place our Faith in Jesus on a shelf when we go to work. God should not be a "big part of our lives," he should be the thing that ties all of the "parts" of our life together. He should be in our work, our play, our worship, our fun, everywhere.... we can't shut Him out of any part of our culture or we won't be able to share His love with everyone we meet.
Our church is our people... not our building. The church is the living, moving, body of Christ. It is difficult to make an impact on the world when the body only gets moving once a week to come and sit in a building. Let's get the body of Christ awake and effective throughout our world to lead as many as possible to a new life and a new eternity.
The "One21" Forum was an amazing reminder that we can reach 21st century culture if we return to 1st century ways of sharing Jesus. I've heard a lot of talk about "missional" and "convergent" churches and making our message "relevant" to the world today, but I had never really taken the time to understand the whole idea. I am glad I did this weekend. Sometimes we can get so tied up in our church buildings and programs and trying to get people to "come to church" that we forget to go "into the world" to share the gospel, making disciples and baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are discovering more and more that the world is "coming to the church" less and less and we need to meet people where they are. Over and over in the Bible we see people sharing with other people, meeting their needs and sharing the good news of the salvation offered through Jesus.
I especially was interested in those who talked about making connections in the workplace, school, and other places in the culture we live in. How often we place our Faith in Jesus on a shelf when we go to work. God should not be a "big part of our lives," he should be the thing that ties all of the "parts" of our life together. He should be in our work, our play, our worship, our fun, everywhere.... we can't shut Him out of any part of our culture or we won't be able to share His love with everyone we meet.
Our church is our people... not our building. The church is the living, moving, body of Christ. It is difficult to make an impact on the world when the body only gets moving once a week to come and sit in a building. Let's get the body of Christ awake and effective throughout our world to lead as many as possible to a new life and a new eternity.
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