Great Paddling From Others

I have great hope for the Body of Christ, even with the challenges that face institutional churches in this century. I am enthused by the people who hunger for the Holy Spirit to keep breaking the calcified shells we too often allow to harden around churches as organizations. That's part of the reason I started this blog. I want to stay connected with the voices of those people. Here is a small sampling...

From odaat come wise words about radical discipleship. "There is a huge difference between believing in God and TRUSTING God. Many believe. Few trust." As the witness in the Christian Bible attests, even the demons believe in God. Believing God exists does not equate to complete allegiance and trust. The latter require an act of will and commitment.

My friend dan boldly states that Jesus' agenda was not to create a structure. "If Jesus had any agenda it was not to make a church to maintain his ideas. It was to make a community to display, distribute, and promote his ideas until everyone knew...they had to have what the believers had." What they had was a relationship with Jesus, a relationship with each other, and a relationship with a mission for which they had great passion. Movement, not structure, was the vehicle of their dynamic impact.

Speaking about my most recent post about the need to listen more than we talk, swimmin' upstream said, "And...by making this effort to listen to either our God or our friend...it sends the message that the one speaking is valued." As we engaged a world of people who are yet to meet Jesus, we begin by hearing the stories of others. We listen to what they value, what they fear, where they've been hurt, where they doubt, what they need, where they have hope. The very act of listening opens the door to the good news of Jesus. What else is God's initial message to a person than, "You matter."

(About the same post, diggin' deeper said I shouldn't worry about people looking at their watches when I start to speak as much as I should worry about people looking at their watches while I speak. That's great! Annette noted that Jesus didn't manage to keep the attention of everyone. That was encouraging.)

These are just some of the statements that really impacted me. Again, I'm excited and grateful that there are so many adventurous and passionate Jesus-followers out there. It's awesome to paddle on this river with company.

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.