Eleven months ago I was sitting in a church service after training camp wondering about the differences I saw between my church and my new community. Mainly, what it actually means to look like the church and follow Christ. I started really studying Acts and how the early church operated, essentially, what the church is supposed to look like. And I found some pretty crazy stuff that I had no experience in. I hadn’t seen a healing, miracles, someone speaking in tongues, translation on tongues, giving everything you have, all the crazy stuff that Acts showed happening I hadn’t seen. I’m not saying I hadn’t seen the church give or help people, I had seen that and my home church was very good about helping people however they could. But I hadn’t ever seen someone look after another’s spiritual needs just as much or more than their physical needs. That is, until one partner in Costa Rica.
This church family was truly that, a family of believers helping each other in every way to be more like Christ. They fed and clothed people physically, but more importantly they fed them spiritually and clothed them in the robes of heaven. I saw a preacher who’s job wasn’t standing at a pulpit like it would be in the American church. His job was looking after the spiritual needs of his people and equipping them to use the gifts of the Spirit. A elder who’s job it was to lead the church by example and help new believers. Gifted teachers who didn’t just lead Sunday school, but taught the church as a whole because that’s the gift God gave them. Speaking of Sunday school, children didn’t go to a separate room, they stayed and saw what it looks like when the Spirit is moving in a church. Children knowing what the Holy Spirit is and praying out loud in church because they are just as welcome as adults. All things I had never experienced in church back in the States. And all things that are shown in the New Testament as marks of a well functioning church, one filled with the Holy Spirit.
As I prepare to come back this month I wonder how much I’ve changed over the last year. But then I remember that day, sitting in church thinking that this couldn’t be all God meant for the church to be. And brothers, sisters hear me on this, God didn’t mean for church to be about sitting in the pews on Sunday and Wednesday nights singing a few hymns, hearing a message, then heading home. The church is a living breathing thing. Because the church is you and me, and if you have that feeling that there has to be more than you’ve been taught your whole life, I don’t care how old you are, let’s get a coffee. I’ll have a month open for talking about anything and everything. And I’d love to talk with you, even if you just want to tell me how wrong I am, let’s talk. So that’s my official invitation to you, shoot me a message and let’s set a time, maybe a FaceTime even, but let’s get together and talk about my favorite things God and what he’s doing.
Beautiful word! As you come back I pray that you will keep this passion for loving people well!