I Love the Church!

Jesus died for Her. Paul and his companions suffered, wrote and travelled all to see Her. God the Father created this entire planet to give Her a place to live and to love Him. She is the body of Christ on the Earth, and she gives Him a Hope for revealing Himself! She is not merely all the scattered, unconnected christians all over town who might sometimes get together. She can be found assembled too - in any place where brothers and sisters have joined their lives together in Him! This IS a mystery, but God's eternal purpose is the Church!

The Joy of my last ten years has been living inside of this vital spiritual community that looks nothing like what most people usually call "church". I could make a long list of things that we don't have: pastor, elders, pews, choir, robes, building, doctrines, committees, programs, projects, etc. But what's important is what we DO have: a real, actual, all-week-long "together-life" in Him. We have an awareness of the fact that we can find Him not only in the Bible, or in nature, or in prayer, but also in our spirits, and in each others' spirits.

There is more of Jesus Christ in my life because of this Church. And it didn't just 'happen', but the Lord did it - through us, and through a man who came to us once, and another man who visits us still. Through those visits, and the Holy Spirit in us, we are learning how to lead one another to Christ. We are co-builders with God in this house he is making for Us. We are brothers and sisters who are deeply involved in one another's lives, and we get to know Him in those frictions as well. Most of all, we are holy ones who share God's nature, and we fellowship together with the Father and the Son.

We may not have it all together, but we have Him together. And that's about as much as I think God or any of us can hope for here on earth. And THAT is what I call the Church.

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So anyway, this is my eight-month old Blog, and it's time for a break. I've enjoyed meeting folks all over the blogosphere, and encouraging them to bloom where they're planted - which I really believe in. But to be honest, I'm mostly looking for people who want to come find Life like this!!! So, if you're tired and hungry, curious, restless or interested... we'll be here! You can stay for a weekend! Give a shout, anytime!

But I won't be posting here for a while. In the meantime, I'll be surfing the blogosphere a bit and working on my projects a bit. Please check back often for updates on Thessalonica, the GUSB and my Timeline. I'd really love to get as much feedback as I can on all of it. They are definitely long-term projects!

But mostly, I'll be living here and loving the Lord as a member of this portion of His Bride - who gathers in our neighborhood in Arlington, Texas.

Since we're together, I might as well say, wouldn't you be, couldn't you be, won't you be... my neighbor? :)