If you have ever gone on a road
trip with a child, you have more than likely heard the question, "Are we
there yet?" As children of God, we are each on a journey every day of our
lives. Sometimes we are the driver, sometimes we are the passenger, sometimes
we ride in the front seat, sometimes we ride in the back seat, sometimes we are
in charge of the directions, and sometimes we are in charge of the snacks.
Regardless of where we are and where we are going on our individual journeys,
we are also on a journey together as Christians.
This past fall, I was given the
sincere honor to join 13 other members of our congregation on the first phase
of the Fruitful Congregations Journey (FCJ). While I understood that in this
first phase we would read books, meet as a team, meet with other churches once
a month in Seymour, IN, and last, but certainly not least, lift each other and
this process up in prayer, I was not prepared for how we would grow, learn, and
change together.
In September, we started out as
14 people of different ages, from different backgrounds, with different jobs,
attending different services, and with different ideas of what we were trying
to accomplish in phase one of this journey. As we read, studied, discussed,
prayed, and listened to each other we began to hear God and the road became
clearer.
We transitioned from members of a
congregation to members of a church family. More importantly we began to see
the face of God in each other and hear the call of God on us as individuals and
as a church. We began to realize that God has bigger dreams and goals than we
could ever imagine for our church, for our community, for our country, and for
our world. In essence, we began to truly discern the big idea that to move
forward on this journey we will have to let go and let God lead us as a
community of faith. God created each of us, has a plan for our lives, and is
ready and patiently waiting for us to let go of the steering wheel.
It is now May and we have
completed Phase One of this journey. We realize that we are not there yet, but
it is exciting to know that we are getting closer day by day. And, I look
forward to continuing on this journey with each and every one of you.
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