Church: It's Everywhere

I was talking to my younger brother who is a pastor up in Ohio around Midnight last night. One of the things we started to talking about was how often we both have "Church". Like a good many words they carry different meanings to different people depending on their own perceptions. It is really hard for me to describe all the things Church is to me but I can tell you what it is not to me. Church is no longer me going to a building once a week and warming a pew for a hour and half then getting on with the rest of my week. At one point in my life that is all church was, nothing more then a social gathering to catch up with people I had not seen since last week and feel like I had done my Godly duty for the week. Then back to the daily grind.

Someone at work asked me this week how often I got to church and when I replied "Every Day" they seemed shocked. Church for me has become anything I am doing with the the body of Christ. Thorn practice, small group, prayer group, outreach, fellowship, worship the list goes on. Fellowship has become a huge part of my life. The fact that I have a open minded group of people that I see almost five days a week is a huge blessing. We go out to eat, movies, game night, prayer group, etc. Our group of friends hang out as much as will fit into our schedules and since most of us attend Seacoast and the Well and go to the same prayer group that ends up being a lot. We all have accountabilty to each other and continually sharpen one another.

It is an incredible experience to get together with friends and have a worship sessions randomly break out. Happens all the time in our group. We pray over everything all the time, at any given moment if someone has a need we will stop and pray. To those of you who may not be as saturated with church as I am this may sound weird or dull. Weird, well normality is overrated anyway and as for dull I can tell you it is anything but. We have fun all the time, everywhere we go and we are full of joy in the spirit as we do it. We must be doing something right because our circle is ever growing. Seldom does a new person come in and decide that it is to boring for them. And the ministry's that are coming out of this solid group of amazing men and women of God is an awesome sight to behold. The passion of doing Gods will among these young adults is highly contagious, I found out a year ago first hand myself and the number of infected grows daily.

Reaching out you may find yourself

I have a million things that I have put down on paper over the last year and only a few see the light of day. However I have finally decided to try and maintain a blog. So many things to say but I can spread them out over time. I think it’s best to start from the beginning or rather the beginning of my awakening. About a year ago I was out walking my dog with my best friend and there happen to be a non-profit hosting a Unity in the Community concert. We met this guy Jesse who has a passion for outreach work that is only rivaled by his dedication to God. It is a passion that is tiresome at times (for those of us who find it hard to keep up with the fact he is a full sprint 24/7), yet highly contagious. A year later me and my best friend Martha were knee deep in preparing for the same event that most certainly turned my life into a much more fulfilled one.

Every week I go out with Take It to the Streets to do field day for children in a neighborhood that most people just refer to as the bad end of town. These kids know us by name and look forward to Saturdays knowing we will be there playing games and cooking hot dogs for them. Who but God can know the long term implications of the lives we touch out there, but I know the looks on their faces when we show up. The deep sense of making an impact in someone’s life is greatly fulfilling. It has filled a space inside me that I did not even know was empty. Sure sometimes I'm dragging on days and feeling like I want to just stay home and lounge by the pool, but never have I gone to be the hands and feet of God and felt like there was somewhere else I would rather be. I encourage any readers who are not currently involved in some form of outreach to get connected and get out in the streets. Jesus said "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matt 24:40)

You may find that as you reach out to help others you yourself are being helped. The chain reaction of a good deed done from a pure heart and the sheer motivation to serve God has effects that reverberate throughout eternity. There is no shortage of opportunity to be the vessel in which God works through to touch a life of one who is less fortunate then you, the question is are you prepared to give God that kind of control?