organic christianity

difference

Here is a question that has plagued me ever since it was asked of me.  I hope it causes many sleepless nights and creates painful knots in your stomach as it has done for me.  "If your church were to no longer exist would your community be effected?"  Would the people in Pleasanton be distraught, confused, hurt and shocked if our church shut down?  I am sure the 150 members of our church would be hurt, but would our community even notice.  Would Pleasanton's families no longer know how to care for their children, would our communities moral compass disappear, would our schools feel the loss, would it make a difference?  The church is meant to be a community transforming entity.  Even though we may not have a large homeless population, poor areas of our community or many needy families our community still needs to be transformed none the less.   Pleasanton should be rocked if our church were to no longer exist.  It should take years to figure out how to fill the holes the church created by leaving.  So the more important question I am trying to answer is, "What are we going to do to make our church a vital part of our community?"  This question can only be answered as we, the whole body, answer it together and then live it out. 

fluent

Today Charlotte and I ran by Tully's before work.  We were frazzled having left the house later than we should have.  We barged into Tully's talking about our plumbing problems at the house.  I was furious and was ranting to Charlotte about how I was going to tell our plumbers off.  I was fixin' up my coffee when I noticed this beautiful little baby boy.  I notice them more often because I am 4 months away from having my own.  For a moment we stopped our enraged conversation to dote over this little child.  Charlotte asked the mother how old the baby was.  The mother mouthed that he was three months old.  Right away we both noticed that she was deaf.  My immediate reaction was to smile and run because of the awkwardness of trying to communicate with someone who can't hear.  Charlotte, if you didn't know, is fluent in sign language.  She immediately starting signing to the woman.  Her face lit up with joy that she could sign with my wife and have a normal conversation.  I bet she probably never is able to do that with a stranger at a coffee shop. 

God spoke something simple to me after this run in with the deaf lady.  How often do we as Christians run away from conversations and relationships with unsaved people because we have no idea how to speak their language.  We are "churched" and have our own sub-culture and it doesn't relate at all to the outside world, most of the time.  There are so many people out in the world that are being passed up by Chrstians and the knowledge of God's love because we just don't know how to relate and speak their language.  Often times Christians know how to talk at people rather than talk with them.  I immediatley became uncomfortable and wanted to walk away as soon as I realized I can't really carry on a conversation with this woman.  However, Charlotte engaged with this woman because she knew her language.  Lord, help us to become fluent in the language of unsaved people.  We don't have to do what they do in order to relate but we do have to understand how to answer their tough questions, share our weaknesses, talk about our journey with Christ and simply love them enough to stop and talk.