most of the time i write these blogs from my point of view, but today i read nate mellum's point of view on a note he'd written on facebook about last night's community group. it was so challenging and encouraging to read the wisdom and insight that God gave him, i thought i'd share it.
_______________________________
"Church Decision-making"
Today at work I had a lot of time to sit, read and think.
Last night at Community we had a lot of back and forth on a certain issue, a new issue, a new possible step for the group and Christ's body. At first, to me anyways, it seemed that we were in agreement. I felt empowered by the Spirit, I could see that others felt the same.
It took me a few minutes to realize that not everyone was feeling the same way.
My first reaction to other ideas was...well, nothing. I had no reaction. Because, besides being slightly curious as to what the differing opinions were, I didn't care. I wasn't being unloving, just not as loving as a family should be. I was not embracing how the Spirit could be working on other people. I new what was right, which is a good place to be, but I didn't seek compassion for others because I was so assured. It was brought up at one point, that the body should only make a decision when everyone is in agreement. I didn't give it much thought at the time (mainly because I couldn't think of Scripture that supported either way), and I can't remember what was said afterwards, but my feeling is that it was generally put down.
The church should be in complete agreement (in decision making), God revealed that to me today. (Romans 15:5-6, 1 Cor. 1:10, 2 Cor. 13:11)
In Acts 1:14 and 4:32 it describes the body as being of "one mind" and "of one heart and soul". Someone mentioned this phrase to me last night and I had to step back and look at it. How could we possibly hope to obtain this one-mindedness in our body if we don't seek to be of one accord in decision making? If we take the Scriptural description of the church as a human body: Christ is the head and we are the members (Eph. 1:22-23). I'm going to say that we all seek the head, Christ's will, in our gathering. I believe we do. He guides and leads the body. If we believe that we are all seeking His will, then there must be a reason that Christ compels people in slightly different directions in regards to one decision. To teach us to not do as democracy and the world does: railroad the people that are in the minority, but instead, to love. If the body moved ahead to do something without everyone being in agreement (not necessarily equal in enthusiasm), we would be denying what the Head was telling all of us, as a whole. Consequently, we wouldn't be able to function to our full potential as a body. In the human body sense, the legs may be walking in two different directions. (Being complete agreement even eliminates gossip and bitterness.)
John describes God as love. 1 John 4:8: "...God is love." In order to love there must be others to love. God is love, because God is a communal being. The Trinity is the perfect image of what the church should be like, in a relational sense. God, Jesus, and the Spirit, all have different functions and are in a sense, different. But they are of one mind. One being, three aspects. They are in complete agreement all the time, they do not disagree. (John 17:20-21). The more unified the church becomes, the more like the Trinity we become.
"But how is it possible for humans to reach complete agreement...we're human?" Because we are lead by the Divine being, the ultimate high priest, our head, Christ. If we don't all agree, and then move forward, we deny His authority and ability to lead.
-Nate
p.s. As a side note...I found it very neat about how we handled the difference in opinions. Despite not accepting as a group that we should be in complete agreement, I felt, we embraced those that were being lead otherwise. Because of our love for each other, we were not at ease until we had sought out those that were hurting! And by the end of the night, as far as I know, we were in agreement! We were led by Christ yet again; our love for each other "saved" us, so to speak from hurt feelings.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
find Him in the valley...
last night at community, one of our younger girls, marissa collins, said something that caught my attention. she said every year she can point out a time when she will experience extreme joy and extreme depression... during and after a summer camp she usually goes to.
as she explained her statement, i was filled with sadness at the depth and emotion (from personal experience) that her words held. marissa said each year she goes to summer camp, and is filled with excitement as she spends time with other believers who have left to the same camp as her to spend time away from the real world connecting with God on a level she doesn't usually experience during the rest of the year. she followed up her excited reverie with a sigh, and said "but then we go back home... things go back to normal life. people struggle with sin and sadness and just all the normal stuff that doesnt happen at camp."
i realized marissa's words rang with the sadness and longing we all have felt at one time or another. we've all gone to a camp or womens retreat or conference, and gotten to have those "mountaintop experiences" with other people who we unite in purpose with to seek after God for that time.
when marissa was done sharing, something i've always thought but never really spoke of kinda became clear in my head, and i shared it with the group.
as the Body of Christ grows stronger and more healthy, i dont believe life will be lived today on "the mountaintop" and tomorrow "in the valley" (if you put it in the churchy terms we've all heard so many times)... not to the extreme, at least. i believe it will be lived on level ground... in community with one another. with community surrounding us, we have the support and the strength that we need in this life that is so hard to handle sometimes.
marissa's sentiments about her sadness in leaving camp were tied to the people she left behind... the community she had been a part of, and the emptiness she felt when she realized she was going back to the real world where she didnt have that. she knew she would be met with loneliness and that emptiness that just seems to consume us all when we feel alone or need someone to encourage us and challenge us to focus on Christ and what he is doing rather than the distractions of this world.
i would submit to you that God is so often not on that perpetual mountaintop... but rather, that he resides in the valley... the place where we are challenged in our faith and spurred on in our walk with him. for many in our community group here in reno, our "valleys" are the days between when we see each other and when we meet to encourage and comfort and invest in one another... and our "mountaintop experiences" are so often and so deeply rooted in what Christ is teaching us and leading us towards, that the valleys dont seem so bad... they don't seem like a far drop from the mountaintop.
on the mountaintop (our times of community and sharing life together), we just get a better view... a better perspective from a higher elevation... of what the valley looks like, and what God is doing in us there. we're learning to look for God in the valleys... in the places where he challenges us to leave our comfort zones and seek more of Him in new and fresh ways.
this week i'm learning that community means the Christian walk isn't an emotional rollercoaster... not a yoyo of excitement and then inevitable depression when that excitement wears off... it's a stable and driving force that God uses to dispell loneliness, combat insecurity, and make us aware of our strengths and weakness so we can have someone else come along side us and help support us through the hard times.
geographically in america, the physical valleys we have here are some of the most beautiful places in the world to visit. people travel across continents to walk across the lush beauty of a valley of green grass, rolling fields of wildflowers and hanging trees.
isnt it ironic (if we're relating these valleys to Christian terms) that life in the valley is kept alive - and sustained - by runoff from those mountaintops? hmmm.
if Christ creates the valleys on this earth with so much creativity and beauty, why did we every start thinking it was a bad thing to be in one?
as she explained her statement, i was filled with sadness at the depth and emotion (from personal experience) that her words held. marissa said each year she goes to summer camp, and is filled with excitement as she spends time with other believers who have left to the same camp as her to spend time away from the real world connecting with God on a level she doesn't usually experience during the rest of the year. she followed up her excited reverie with a sigh, and said "but then we go back home... things go back to normal life. people struggle with sin and sadness and just all the normal stuff that doesnt happen at camp."
i realized marissa's words rang with the sadness and longing we all have felt at one time or another. we've all gone to a camp or womens retreat or conference, and gotten to have those "mountaintop experiences" with other people who we unite in purpose with to seek after God for that time.
when marissa was done sharing, something i've always thought but never really spoke of kinda became clear in my head, and i shared it with the group.
as the Body of Christ grows stronger and more healthy, i dont believe life will be lived today on "the mountaintop" and tomorrow "in the valley" (if you put it in the churchy terms we've all heard so many times)... not to the extreme, at least. i believe it will be lived on level ground... in community with one another. with community surrounding us, we have the support and the strength that we need in this life that is so hard to handle sometimes.
marissa's sentiments about her sadness in leaving camp were tied to the people she left behind... the community she had been a part of, and the emptiness she felt when she realized she was going back to the real world where she didnt have that. she knew she would be met with loneliness and that emptiness that just seems to consume us all when we feel alone or need someone to encourage us and challenge us to focus on Christ and what he is doing rather than the distractions of this world.
i would submit to you that God is so often not on that perpetual mountaintop... but rather, that he resides in the valley... the place where we are challenged in our faith and spurred on in our walk with him. for many in our community group here in reno, our "valleys" are the days between when we see each other and when we meet to encourage and comfort and invest in one another... and our "mountaintop experiences" are so often and so deeply rooted in what Christ is teaching us and leading us towards, that the valleys dont seem so bad... they don't seem like a far drop from the mountaintop.
on the mountaintop (our times of community and sharing life together), we just get a better view... a better perspective from a higher elevation... of what the valley looks like, and what God is doing in us there. we're learning to look for God in the valleys... in the places where he challenges us to leave our comfort zones and seek more of Him in new and fresh ways.
this week i'm learning that community means the Christian walk isn't an emotional rollercoaster... not a yoyo of excitement and then inevitable depression when that excitement wears off... it's a stable and driving force that God uses to dispell loneliness, combat insecurity, and make us aware of our strengths and weakness so we can have someone else come along side us and help support us through the hard times.
geographically in america, the physical valleys we have here are some of the most beautiful places in the world to visit. people travel across continents to walk across the lush beauty of a valley of green grass, rolling fields of wildflowers and hanging trees.
isnt it ironic (if we're relating these valleys to Christian terms) that life in the valley is kept alive - and sustained - by runoff from those mountaintops? hmmm.
if Christ creates the valleys on this earth with so much creativity and beauty, why did we every start thinking it was a bad thing to be in one?
Sunday, May 3, 2009
nothing can separate us
to have the ones we love leave us is so hard.
even if it's only for a season, we still desire fellowship with them, and feel the absense of their unique contributions to our daily walks with God when they are gone. in our group, we have a hard time being apart from each other even for a few days inbetween tuesday and friday when we meet each week... so we have lunch and get together for coffee, and set up movie nights... all just for an excuse to share life together.
we crave and protect our time together... as much of it as we can get.
meagan, a precious part of our community, is moving away in the next week or two... and we are having to work really hard not to just kidnap her and keep her here and not let her leave.
we are happy God is opening up new job and school opportunities for her in oregon, but her presence in our lives is priceless, and her maturity in her gifting has been such a beautiful blessing to get to experience the last few months. many of us have known her for years and just recently reconnected with her again, but God's timing was so perfect! intimate and real foundations for lasting friendships and relationship with her were built to the point where NOTHING can separate us in Spirit.
no distance... no geographic change of location will affect our love for her, though. we will miss her daily presense in our lives so much, but we will rejoice with her as we see what amazing things God has in store for her.
Psalm 139: 8-10
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
what a beautiful woman, our meagan is... we love you megs... stay strong!!
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