I was listening to a pastor talk about how the men in his church took a survey. The question – what is your greatest pursuit I life as a man (I think - not verbatim)? The number one answer was to be a spiritual leader at home and at work. The pastor continued on with his sermon by digging into the bible to try to answer that question. It was then that it struck me.
To be a follower of God – what does that mean? How do we follow him and lead others along the way? Does it require us to have the fullest amount of knowledge? Does it require us to read the bible and fifty other books, and pray about it once we have completed them? Does it require us to be proficient at debating to each other weather Paul’s favorite color was red?
To sum it up, I can do all of this with ease. I have had more training in the Christian “arts” than I care to mention. I could name all of the books of the bible and quote four chapters in the bible by the age of 5. When I was a child, I had all the best albums by Carmon and M. W. Smith. I am not trying to be cynical; this was all that I knew. However, although I was trained, I was not a “leader” of anything. Maybe it was because I hadn’t read the “How to be a leader” book series at the Christian book store. Honestly, I was content. I didn’t know that there was anything else out there. I was trained by people that had this same mindset and so I was doomed so to speak.
Not until I met you guys did I realize that there was more out there. Leadership, and all of the other B.S. secular names that come along with it, was not a focal point. Living love was. Our tag line might be “house church” but community is our apologetic and our reason. Acting spiritually like 7 year-olds when we come together and live like we are in a kingdom with a great and wise king – that’s what God intended. Not being able to contain our joy amidst poverty – God is with us. Praising the King while neck deep in death and pain: finally our lives are seen as different to the secular world and surprisingly to the church world.
I hope that this life that we live will be addictive to all who hear and see it. There are so many people that have the desire to live for Him but who aren’t able to see it first hand. Come to think of it, I would be in that same boat. To you guys, I owe my deepest gratitude. I love you guys deeply.
posted by Tera @ 11:35 AM
Comments: 0
