Being the end of the year and all, I have been in somewhat of a reflective mood on life and community and all the things Jesus has done over the past 12 months. The more I have thought about it I have become so thankful for this life He has blessed me with and for His willingness to include me in His plans.
I have felt like 2007 has been a year where Jesus has really put an emphasis on community in my life. It all started in 2005, and 2006 was a growing year, but this past year has been one where I have felt my deep need for living life with community and not being able to settle for anything less. Within the realm of community so many things have happened this year.
What started out almost a year and a half ago as a prayer time for specific things going on at Bridgeway and specifically with men, I began meeting with Randy and Ryan and Andy on a regular basis. God soon turned that prayer group into something so much better. God took those 3 great frineds of mine and made them so much more. He made them brothers, He made them Warriors always by my side no matter what is going on. Through that process God has taught me as well as them that no matter what, I am not alone in the stuff I am walking out, and better yet I have these 3 guys that will not let me slide in anyway or get away with anything. They keep me in check at all times. I know that in all my actions I am not only accountable to God, but I am accountable to them. This year I have just sensed how refreshing it is to have that kind of a bond. To let others open you up and see all the junk that is really there is such a hard an intimidating thing to do, but the freedom that comes from that openess is unexplainable. It sometimes seems like God is knitting the four of our hearts together for something more, for a purpose, for an adventure, for a battle, for a mission. Maybe not to unlike Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin in Lord of the Rings. Four seemlingly normal, everyday people (hobbits) that are transformed into so much more. Anyway, I digress....
Even outside of those 3 guys and myself, as a greater community of friends and lovers of Jesus I have seen Him do so much this past year. In House church we multiplied into another community that was sent out to have a great impact in OKC and in the hearts of those who attend it. We learned how easy and natural that process was. I have never given birth, but if you allow me the grace of acting like I have, multiplying just felt that natural to me. We grew and matured until it was finally time to give birth to this new House Chuch and it was not a sad thing, but a joyous thing. It needed to happen and God had the perfect timing for it to happen.
God allowed us to learn what it means to rally around the people we love and minister to them. I remember helping Jaime after his car and tools were stolen. I remember many of you making the trip up to Wichita to see Crystal after she had had a really tough week and loving on her. I remember the weekend in Atlanta where some tough stuff was revealed to Crystal and even though I was not there, you guys did such a great job of loving her. I remember people doing Shiloh work days, helping Andy get ready for camp. I remember a lot of prayer times where we were just able to ask God to come intercede because we need Him so badly.
In 2007, as a community God has taught us what it looks like to walk through life together. I went to weddings and saw people joined together in His name and was able to celebrate that. I went to a hospital and got to share in the joy of welcoming a new life that He created, a new life created in His image (sweet Graham). We as a community also shared in sorrow and grief as we walked through lose as an unborn baby was lost and a step father past away. Who knows if we handled any of it correctly, but either way, as a community God allowed us to take part in it all and I have to believe He taught us all stuff in the process. He taught us how to walk with eachother in both the joys and sorrows of life, and in the end we must all believe that He is still so GOOD to us.
This is all such good stuff to remember and be thankful for, and to be honest I am probably forgetting 80% of the stuff that happened this year, but of what I do remember and write about here, I am thankful and hungry for more of it. More of Him teaching us what community is all about and how we cannot live without it. If you think of more things that happened this past year in community that you want to share, feel free to leave a comment so we can all read it and be thankful together.
Pressing Foward,
Pete
I have felt like 2007 has been a year where Jesus has really put an emphasis on community in my life. It all started in 2005, and 2006 was a growing year, but this past year has been one where I have felt my deep need for living life with community and not being able to settle for anything less. Within the realm of community so many things have happened this year.
What started out almost a year and a half ago as a prayer time for specific things going on at Bridgeway and specifically with men, I began meeting with Randy and Ryan and Andy on a regular basis. God soon turned that prayer group into something so much better. God took those 3 great frineds of mine and made them so much more. He made them brothers, He made them Warriors always by my side no matter what is going on. Through that process God has taught me as well as them that no matter what, I am not alone in the stuff I am walking out, and better yet I have these 3 guys that will not let me slide in anyway or get away with anything. They keep me in check at all times. I know that in all my actions I am not only accountable to God, but I am accountable to them. This year I have just sensed how refreshing it is to have that kind of a bond. To let others open you up and see all the junk that is really there is such a hard an intimidating thing to do, but the freedom that comes from that openess is unexplainable. It sometimes seems like God is knitting the four of our hearts together for something more, for a purpose, for an adventure, for a battle, for a mission. Maybe not to unlike Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin in Lord of the Rings. Four seemlingly normal, everyday people (hobbits) that are transformed into so much more. Anyway, I digress....
Even outside of those 3 guys and myself, as a greater community of friends and lovers of Jesus I have seen Him do so much this past year. In House church we multiplied into another community that was sent out to have a great impact in OKC and in the hearts of those who attend it. We learned how easy and natural that process was. I have never given birth, but if you allow me the grace of acting like I have, multiplying just felt that natural to me. We grew and matured until it was finally time to give birth to this new House Chuch and it was not a sad thing, but a joyous thing. It needed to happen and God had the perfect timing for it to happen.
God allowed us to learn what it means to rally around the people we love and minister to them. I remember helping Jaime after his car and tools were stolen. I remember many of you making the trip up to Wichita to see Crystal after she had had a really tough week and loving on her. I remember the weekend in Atlanta where some tough stuff was revealed to Crystal and even though I was not there, you guys did such a great job of loving her. I remember people doing Shiloh work days, helping Andy get ready for camp. I remember a lot of prayer times where we were just able to ask God to come intercede because we need Him so badly.
In 2007, as a community God has taught us what it looks like to walk through life together. I went to weddings and saw people joined together in His name and was able to celebrate that. I went to a hospital and got to share in the joy of welcoming a new life that He created, a new life created in His image (sweet Graham). We as a community also shared in sorrow and grief as we walked through lose as an unborn baby was lost and a step father past away. Who knows if we handled any of it correctly, but either way, as a community God allowed us to take part in it all and I have to believe He taught us all stuff in the process. He taught us how to walk with eachother in both the joys and sorrows of life, and in the end we must all believe that He is still so GOOD to us.
This is all such good stuff to remember and be thankful for, and to be honest I am probably forgetting 80% of the stuff that happened this year, but of what I do remember and write about here, I am thankful and hungry for more of it. More of Him teaching us what community is all about and how we cannot live without it. If you think of more things that happened this past year in community that you want to share, feel free to leave a comment so we can all read it and be thankful together.
Pressing Foward,
Pete
