"People don't come to church for preachments, of course, but to daydream about God" (Kurt Vonnegut, Jr). On Friday, we gathered some folks in our home to daydream about church. The folks who came have supported us in the church plant endeavor in one way or another, and I invited them to come and support us again as we begin to put words to our thoughts on church. I asked the crew what they value in their current church or what they would love to see in church. I was surprised when nearly everyone expressed the importance of community. Using different words, they expressed that church is/should be a place where one feels supported and can support others, where one is known, where one feels relationally safe, where one is a part of something greater than themselves, and where one is not just one, but one together w/ others... church is/should be an authentic community.
I believe we all long for authentic community, the place described by the group Friday. I love the idea of living a life w/ others where we are: 1) intentionally growing inwards (creating safe, fun places where we grow socially together and others feel the warmth of Christ), 2) intentionally growing upwards (growing in our faith and knowledge of our creator together), and 3) intentionally growing outwards (discovering and experimenting how we can live our faith in Jesus out in our neighborhoods, serving others). I love the idea of living a congruent life w/ others where these 3 rhythms of life inform each other. I believe others will be attracted to such congruency, and God will use it to draw folks to Himself. My prayer is our daydreams about God and church will continue to find words and feet and we move forward together.
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