At the time of writing this I am sitting in Moe's Bar and Grill in the Cincy airport waiting for the last leg of my flight back home. This was the second of my four trips to the CIY (Christ In Youth) summer conference to lead a class discussion with students, youth sponsors, pastors, and college students on church planting. I get excited every time I present the material. There is always lively discussion and plenty of questions. Pretty much all I am doing is telling our story... the story of Oasis as it exists in southeastern Ohio. I love telling that story. I love seeing the looks on people's faces when I explain that church life can be as simple as that... LIFE. I love telling them about how I need not be a "super-pastor" in Oasis because Oasis is a family of people who all recognize their role of service and calling to discover and use the gift God has given them to build up the body of Christ and extend the Kingdom of God. I love seeing the nods of their heads in agreement and the almost looks of envy when I describe church life as a family. I see their hunger for the same thing... and my encouragement to them is that they CAN have the same thing. Much of BEING the church is a simple change of mindset and theology (or ecclesiology)... from there life flows from many models and forms.
But as much as I love going to these conferences and meeting new people and sharing the life of Oasis with brothers and sisters from other parts of the country... there is still nothing like being home. There is nothing like being there, LIVING that life that I have just talked about. As I sit here I recognize that this is the major difference between me and the people I just spoke to. Many of them want it, but to them it is still a dream. They are still longing for the day when church will be not a place they go or a slick program they create... but a life they live in their neighborhoods and families. At least now they know they can begin to make it a reality instead of just dreaming for the day. But what I recognize in this moment, as I sit here in this bar, is that what they dream for... we HAVE. We have the church life that I once dreamed about having. And my heart is full of praise to God for that. I am overwhelmed at the love and relationship we share together. Whenever I go to these places and speak as a "guest" I am confronted with how different things are for many people. And I am reminded to be so very thankful for where I am, and for what I have.
Is Oasis perfect? LOL... of course not. But that's what I love about it. We look around and we know we are a bunch of screwed up people who love Jesus and do our best to honor Him, recognizing that it is not about how good we try to be, or how well we present ourselves, or how spotless our lives appear... it is all about Jesus. And the funny thing is, the closer we get to Jesus, the more spotless we become. It happens. There's nothing we can do about it. It's just something Jesus does. You can try to be perfect, and you will fail. You will never come close. Or... you can draw closer and closer to Jesus, open yourself up to Him more and more... and you never know. You'll still probably be a long way from perfection, but you will be much closer to it than if you tried to attain it on your own.
Jesus always does a much better job than us. Lets be all about Jesus. Let's be all for Jesus. Is Jesus in the center of your life this week? If not, I'm guessing you have recognized it. It's always noticeable when He is there... and when He is not.
Give your all to Jesus.
i went to your class in anderson IN with two of our youth. my husband the night before your class said he was approached to do church planting by a group (we both just graduated from cbc) i was scared out of my mind. Then i went to your class, and though its a different method, you helped me along and gave me lots to think about. esp. the neil cole quote. that was always my objection... "i'm not enough." well, its not about me but God working with what talents he has given me and my husband. we dont have to be perfect.
We reported to the rest of our youth group and youth minister that night about the class and had an awesome discussion about it.
Thanks for teaching this class and sharing your experiences. May God bless your ministry!
Posted by: mandy | July 10, 2004 at 12:30 PM
Mandy, thanks for taking time to comment. I had a great time in Indiana. I will pray for you and your husband this evening. Enjoy the journey!
Posted by: chris | July 11, 2004 at 10:29 PM