Longing for home

Grace in motion
Back to school week.  Can you imagine what the kids were feeling?  Probably a mix of excitement, fear, anxiety, and anticipation.  Especially those going to school for the first time.  Kindergarteners and college students.  Many had no idea what they were walking into.  They never experienced anything like it before.  Their parents could have prepared them, their friends or siblings may have primed them, but they still had to walk away from their familiar home and into a world previously unknown to them.

If I had to guess, I would bet that how those kids felt about half way through their first day is probably how we feel right now.  We’re excited, yet guarded.  Busy, yet lonely.  Home, yet homesick.  We have been in our new home in our new city for one month.  God has taught us much during this time.  Far more than one blog update should contain.  But one lesson, or should I say longing, stands out above the rest. 

We weren’t created for this world.  We were created for a world that displays the unhindered and uncontaminated beauty of God.  We were created to engage in relationships that feel like family.  We were created to invest our lives in work that challenges and energizes us while helping others and ultimately bringing glory to God.  That’s not the world we live in. 

But through what Jesus has done for us on the cross, we have the potential of hearing the echoes of that world now.  And because of His promise in His Word we can live with the confidence of that world being restored – soon.  It’s the space between that’s challenging.  The space we all live in.  While many challenges await us in the space, God has given us all one great gift of grace to fill the space with purpose and joy.  And we find it in the church.

One of the metaphors God gives us to understand the church is “family.”  When we receive Christ we are adopted into the family of God.  We are told to treat other believers as brothers and sisters.  People are only to lead in the church when they prove they can lead in their home.  All of this points to a spiritual, perhaps even mystical experience that God makes tangible through the church.  This is what we are feeling right now by its absence. 

We have friends here.  Good friends.  Friends that have been incredibly generous and hospitable.  We have been welcomed with open arms by several churches.  But there is something so deep and powerful about covenanting with a local church that no other community or mission can even come close to.  Being in covenant with a local church is a blood bought gift of grace.  It’s what we were designed for.    

The closest I can get to describe what we’re feeling right now might be the difference between dating and marriage.  When a couple’s commitment level is at “dating” (even if they act like they’re married in every other respect) the people in that relationship constantly feel like they’re auditioning.  Even if there’s love, admiration, respect, and all of the good things that can encompass a relationship, the commitment level of dating simply cannot match that of marriage.  Because when a couple gets married, God says He makes them one person.  He does something spiritual and intangible, yet incredibly real, that is next to impossible to describe.  The audition ends and the covenant begins.    

It is this union, an unbreakable spiritual reality that Jesus says exists within the church.  We loved the local church before we came here.  But now that we don’t have one, because we’re in the process of starting one, we long to be married again.          

  

Planter’s Progress

So what have we been up to this past month?  Oh, not much.  Kristy has gotten our entire family settled in our new house.  And I don’t just mean that the boxes are put away, she’s decorated the majority of the house and painted several rooms.  Having a new house to decorate has been a real treat for her!  

I have preached at three different churches, officiated a wedding, and met with more people than I can count.  Due to the generosity of our network of churches, in the past month over 2,000 people in Milwaukee have heard our dreams for this new church.  I have also begun interviewing several people who are interested in joining our launch team. 

Beyond this, Kristy and I both have been able to make some great connections with our neighbors.  We’ve had play dates, dinners, gone golfing, and just hung out with so many people.  It’s astounding that when we walk around our block we greet and are greeted by name. 

Finally, God may have opened up a door for us to serve.  Through a series of connections, we were invited to provide the volunteer horse-power needed for one of the elementary schools in the city to run a program that will reward kids for anti-bullying behavior.  This school has had their music, art, and phy-ed departments cut.  These kids don’t get to play kick ball!  But now, on every Friday afternoon of this school year, our new church will go to Hampton Elementary and offer those classes to the kids who are “fighting the good fight” against bullying.  What a gift to be able to live out the image of God in this city!  I can’t wait to see what God does with this!      

Next Steps

The primary focus of our work for the next several months will be building and training the launch team God gives, sharing the gospel with who God allows, and serving where God opens doors. 

PLEASE PRAY that God would give me administrative grace to serve potential launch team members well.  (I’ve already stood two people up.  Argh!)    

PLEASE PRAY that God would give me relational grace to fully engage in all of these conversations so that God might use me to help people discern where He is calling them to serve. 

PLEASE PRAY that I would be wise in training and equipping those who God calls to join our launch team.  There is much work to be done, and it can’t all be done at once. 

PLEASE PRAY that the team and I will continue to build relationships with people who do not know how much God loves them – yet. 

PLEASE PRAY for our opportunity at Hampton Elementary School.  I don’t know what God is doing with this, but I do believe that Hampton is where He is calling our church to serve this year.  PLEASE PRAY that we would serve with excellence and compassion so that the 100’s of people who are connected through this school would see the majesty of God through our minor efforts. 

PLEASE PRAY that God would give us a name for our church.  In comparison to what’s going on, this is small.  But we need a name, obviously, and the one we pick we’re stuck with.  Please pray that I don’t mess that up! 

Thank you all for joining us on this journey.  I thank God that we get to do this with you all!