The Lies We Believe

There are two lies that follow Christian young adults around and convince them they are doing this entire "adulthood" thing wrong. In the two years since I graduated college, I have battled these lies, believing them far more than I would like to admit. Today, I want to dispel them and shed light on the truth, because despite what the world seems to tell us, "adulthood" and "adventurous living" are not measured by how many orphanages we work in or our relationship status. So, to all my Christian young adult brothers and sisters, this is for you.

Lie 1: When you surrender your adult life to God, you will automatically get thrust into an adventure that is so grand people will write books about you, and you may end up adopting several sick children or learning a couple different languages in the process.
Truth 1: Surrendering your adult life to God is your grand adventure.

I have a confession to make: I can't read Kisses from Katie, you know that book about the young girl who goes to Uganda and then never comes back because she has decided to adopt all those little girls. I can't read it, not I haven't read it, I can't read it. I tried. I had many people tell me I should read it but I couldn't do it. See every time I tried, I developed what I call "ministry envy." I became jealous of Katie. I wanted to be the one sitting in Uganda, holding small children, telling them about Jesus, but that did not seem to be God's plan for my life. So I refuse to read the book, though I'm sure it's a beautiful story, because I want to guard my heart against ministry envy.

There are many points throughout my two years of young adulthood that I have felt like I must be doing it wrong. I gave my life to God; I surrendered fully. Where was my grand adventure? I live in a town whose only boast is a Wal-Mart. I wondered if I was surrendering my life to God correctly. Why hadn't he sent me on some really amazing adventure? I like to travel. I've been feeling a desperate urge to get on a plane lately, but those doors have not opened.

While wrestling with this desire for something "grander," God intervened. When I say, God intervened, what I really mean is He pretty much dropped truth on my lap and kindly, and mercifully told me to snap out of it. The truth is, these past two years of daily surrendering my life to God has been an adventure. I never know what's coming next. I had no idea God would double the size of the youth group I lead. I could have never imagined that I would find myself leading meetings comprised of youth leaders from three different states, and two different cultures. I never pictured myself having meaningful conversations with teenagers in Dunkin Donuts, or preaching to full congregations several times in one year. I had no idea I would be traveling to Cleveland to help take care of my mom who would undergo a serious surgery at a top notch hospital. No, I may not be holding orphans in a foreign country, people might not write books about my young adult life, but it has been an adventure.

So friends, stop critiquing your life. You only miss the adventures God places in front of you. 

Surrendering your life to God is a grand adventure, a grand adventure we get to live everyday. Make the most of it, celebrate the unexpected, rejoice in the ordinary, and watch God turn your life into an amazing, beautiful adventure. Oh, and if you feel motivated, write a book about your school teaching, church ministry, office working, temp job jumping, God glorifying adventures. I'd read it.

Lie 2: Adult life begins when you get married, unless you're called to singleness, then "Get thee to a Nunnery!" or an orphanage where you can hold babies and justify your singleness.
Truth 2: Your ability to live a God glorifying, happy adult life, has nothing to do with your relationship status. 

The lump in my throat appeared so unexpectedly and randomly that it took me a minute to realize why I suddenly felt the need to sob. After a few brief minutes of simultaneous thinking and attempting to hold myself together, the feelings and fears I had suppressed were emerging along with the reasons for the hot tears threatening to pour down my face. I was at an ordination service, it was a beautiful, lively celebration recognizing God's calling on so many. The bishop had just called forward the ordinands and their spouses. And their spouses. That phrase hit me like a rock. I'm one year from being ordained, and unless something drastically changes in my life, I will have no spouse to journey with me to the front of that sanctuary. Hearing the call for the ordinands and their spouses to come forward brought me face to face with that reality. This is not what I had pictured. I figured first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the ordination service. Instead, I will be walking forward on my own, no husband holding my hand encouragingly, excited for the new chapter in our lives. With that realization, I felt very much alone.

I wish I could tell you that I was able to shake this feeling of loneliness off quickly, but that would be untrue. Instead, I wrestled with it for all of annual conference. God was making his call on my life all the more clear. My desire to do urban ministry was growing, and I found myself asking God why I had yet to get married if I was going to end up doing urban ministry where being all of 5' 2'', 108 lbs. and single sounds relatively risky. I told God I didn't want to do it alone. Then, God did it again. He dropped truth on to my lap and kindly and mercifully told me to snap out of it. The truth is, I am never alone.

That gospel, foundational truth that I serve a God who is engaged in every itty bitty detail of my life, who became human so I could know that He understands my every thought and feeling, that never leaves me or forsakes me, came crashing down over me like a waterfall. 

How many times had I told teenagers that they were never alone? How many times had I uttered that comfort to others? Yet, here I was unable to embrace it for myself. The truth is, God is with me. Always. I am never alone. Not only that, but my ability to truly embrace adulthood, to embrace this wonderfully humbling calling God has placed on my life is not based on my marital status. The only relationship that can prohibit me from embracing God's call on my life is my relationship with Him.

So if you're like me and are practically as single and humanly possible, stop waiting for a wedding to begin your adult life. Stop basing the call God has placed on your life on your relationship status. God is with you. God called you while you were single, so why on earth would you need to wait for marriage to fully embrace that calling? Go, live your God glorifying, happy, adventure having adult life.

These two lies have threatened to box me up during my young adulthood. They have made me cry as I wondered what was going wrong. They have made me feel inadequate. I'm sure I'm not the only one. But now, now I'm done buying into these lies. I'm a single, Christian young adult, who is embracing the grand adventure God has put in front of me, and I'm joyfully anticipating the next unexpected turn. I hope this blog encourages you to do the same. Married or single, living abroad or in a little American town, embrace the adventure God is laying in front of you.

More Than a Catchy Napkin Phrase

I have a confession: I'm not a big hymn person. I know, I know, I'm a pastor's kid. In fact, I'm not just a pastor's kid, I'm fourth generation Free Methodist, and I'm following my great grandpa's, grandpa's and dad's footsteps in entering the ministry. Hymns should be my personal soundtrack. There's just one problem: my mom used them to put me to sleep when I was little. This means that one verse of "Blessed Assurance," and I'm ready for a nap. 

Now that I've been open and honest about my sleepy relationship with the hymnal (which I barely know how to use by the way), I will say I do love the words of hymns. 
For instance, tomorrow is Easter and we will undoubtedly sing, "He Lives," in our 8:30 service. It's a powerful song. The one line that I found myself humming this morning says this:

"He lives, He lives, salvation to impart, you ask me how I know He lives, He lives inside my heart."

There is great power in the statement, Jesus lives. Every Easter, people chorus, "He is risen, He is risen indeed." 

"Christ is risen," is the slogan of Easter. I even found napkins that said that on them. While this is good, great in fact, I can't help but wonder if we really take time to think about what it means to say, "Christ is risen." Do we realize that this means that He is alive? He is here. He is working. He is present in our daily lives. 

"Christ is risen," is more than a catchy napkin phrase. It is our reality. 

What I love about the one line in, "He lives," is the defense the writer gives for Jesus' resurrection. He doesn't precede into a scientific or historical debate (granted that would probably sound really strange in a hymn). No, his response is to say that he knows Jesus lives, because Jesus lives in him. His evidence is in his experience. 

That's how we know that Jesus is alive. We experience His presence. 
Today, I experienced God's presence in a mighty way. On the eve of Easter, I felt how alive Jesus is. I saw Him work. I felt His love. Today, I was running around the sanctuary watching kids and their parents decorate cookies, balance plastic eggs on spoons, make resurrection rolls, and so much more! The smiles and laughter were contagious. There was so much joy and love in that church today. And that was only possible because He lives. 

I'll be honest; I lost a lot of sleep this week. I had nightmare after nightmare about this event. I was panicking that something was going to go wrong. But I realized something today; my worries were pointless because Jesus is alive. The point of our "Easter Extravaganza" was not to impress people, or add something fancy to my resume, it was to show people the love of Jesus. 

The love of Jesus was experienced today because He lives. 

Tomorrow people everywhere will sing songs like, "He Lives," maybe they'll even sing the contemporary song, "Because He Lives." Whatever it is, the message will be the same; He is risen, He is risen indeed. My life and experience of His love are all the proof I need, today was just an added reminder that,

Christ is Risen is more than a catchy napkin phrase.

Eyes Wide Open

It's that time of year again. The time we all sit back and reflect on what the past 365 days were like. We remember what happened, the good and the bad. We take note of all that has changed. We evaluate who it is we are in comparison with who we truly desire to be. It is that last thought that leads us to make our New Year's Resolutions. Last year I blogged about a New Kind of Resolution, it was different because it was less focused on doing things for myself, and more on doing things for others. I didn't discuss my desire to be healthier, work out more,  or read more books. I wrote about desiring to love others better. This year, I feel God leading me to make a very similar resolution. This year, 

I want to live my life with my eyes wide open. 

Let me explain. In November my church had the privilege of hosting the band Everfound. They put on an amazing concert for our little audience of about 120. The way they performed, you could tell they were singing for the glory of God, and it was wonderful to get to be part of that experience. One of the songs they played was their New Year's resolution song entitled, Resolution. Part of the lyrics describe living life, "with eyes wide open." That imagery gets me. It makes me wonder if I've been living with my eyes wide open. Have I seen all God desires for me to see? Do I walk around this world only half seeing, eyes partially open seeing only what I want to see? Do I actually see people, or do I merely look through them? My New Year's resolution last year was to love people the way God loves them, this year I want to see people the way God sees them, and I want to allow God to open my eyes, open them wide. 

Colossians 3:1-2 (MSG) says, 

"So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective."

I don't want to go through my life, shuffling along, with my eyes on the ground focusing on myself. I don't want to be absorbed with my to-do lists and life goals. I want to live with my eyes wide open. I want to see God moving, notice what he's doing that I may live out the resurrected life he has given me. I want to see things from God's perspective, but that means that I must be willing to see people, truly see them.

I do a lot of ministry. I teach 4yr olds - 5th graders every Sunday morning and then switch over to 6th-12th graders on Sunday nights. I work to equip and train small group leaders for those age groups. I love every part of what I do in these various jobs, but I need to remember that it is more important that I am truly seeing the people I am working with than it is that I get every little task done. When a child comes in to class with excitement about something that may seem small, do I seek to enter into that joy with him and encourage him? When that teenager is retreating to the corner, do I notice the way her eyes give the message that she is hurting and seek to be a presence in her life, even if that means merely sitting with her in her hurt? When I pray for people do I really want God to open my eyes enough that I might see the way he is calling me to enter into their lives and love them the way he does?

That's what it comes down to; do I really want to live with my eyes wide open? God has invited me to live a resurrected life, a life with my eyes wide open in which he teaches me how to really see people and love them. It is not a question of ability. I know God can open my eyes and teach me how to really see people. He promised to take my heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh (Ez. 36:26). He has given me a resurrected life. All I have to do is live into it.

So, this is my resolution. This year, I will live a resurrected life. I will not shuffle along, head looking to the ground. I will look up. I will see where God is moving. I will allow him to help me see people the way he sees them, that I may truly love them. I will live with my eyes wide open.

What Wearing Bikinis and Eating Food Sacrificed to Idols Have in Common

I know, I know, the title of this post sounds like a bad, corny Christian joke. But I promise it's not. No, this is me seeking to get involved in a conversation that has been cluttering my newsfeed for quite some time. This is me as a female, big sister, and youth leader seeking to engage in a conversation that is not new but that I believe is changing drastically. That is all about the topic of modesty.

See, the modesty conversation is changing, and not for the better. 

There is a dialogue happening amongst women today, Christian and nonChristian alike that is working to align immodest dressing with the movement for Feminist Rights. Suddenly saying women should dress modestly is limiting their rights as human beings. I have read blogs and tweets and posts all about a girl's right to show as much skin as she pleases because it is her right. I have watched in dismay as the likes and approving comments cause these posts to go viral. Everything in my mind and heart screams as I watch how twisted we have made the topic of modesty. When I was a teenager and my Christian guy friends expressed their frustration with how girls were dressing because it made it harder for them to keep their minds pure, my heart broke for them. Today when I say that, people say their hearts break for me as though I have somehow squandered away my dignity by caring about the needs of another.

When it comes to modesty, compassion has been removed from the equation and selfishness has replaced it. 

Let me make something very clear, I am not saying that women can control the minds of men or that women should be held responsible for the thoughts and actions of the men around them. However, I am indeed saying that as their sisters in Christ, we have a responsibility to make sure that our defense of our rights does not cause those around us to stumble. We must begin to treat dressing modestly in the same way Paul treated eating food sacrificed to idols.

In the first letter to the Corinthians found in the New Testament, Paul is answering a question about eating food sacrificed to idols (1 Corinthians 8). The Christians asking this question were very aware that the idols this food had been sacrificed to were not real, and that there was no magical power of any sorts in this food, so they could see no problem with eating it, and neither could Paul. There really was no problem with eating that food according to Paul, because doing so did not draw them farther from God. However, Paul tells them not to do so. He makes it clear that though the Corinthian Christians  may have been able to eat this food without falling into serving idols does not mean that their younger brothers and sisters in Christ could do the same. It also does not mean that those watching would not be confused as to what these Christians truly believed. So even though Paul understands that the mature Christians in the Corinthian church could have eaten that food without sinning, he instructs them not to. Why? Because as Christians their lives were not about themselves. They were entirely about those around them. He makes it clear that the Corinthians were in danger of making their own personal rights more important than the salvation of those around them. The final verse of this section sums it all up quite nicely:

"Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will ever again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble." - 1 Corinthians 8:13

Christian sisters we need to begin making this verse a part of our getting ready routines in the morning. We need to begin saying, "If wearing spandex makes my brother stumble, I will never wear them again." "If wearing a bikini causes my brother to trip up, I will invest in a tankini." I am not telling you to dress like a nun. I am not saying we must all cover our faces and succumb to a life of inferiority. I do believe in equal rights for men and women, for crying out loud I'm a women in ministry! Still, I am afraid of what may happen if we make dressing immodestly a defense of our so called female rights. We must all remember that as Christians, our lives are not our own. If that super tight tube dress does not bring you closer to God (and I assure you it does not) then why defend wearing it and risk causing your brother to stumble? Guys, if wearing your pants way too low causes your sister to stumble, pull them up and buy a belt. Male or female, if you are seeking to follow Jesus you must seek to serve others, and if that means being a little hot because you're wearing a shirt that actually meets your pants, I'd say it's well worth it.

For more information on why modesty matters, check out this video. It's spot on. 

The Recipe for Humble Pie

As I've mentioned before, I thoroughly enjoy cooking. My strange dietary requirements make cooking and baking quite an adventure. I've discovered I most enjoy cooking when I allow it to become experimental, throwing in a pinch of this and a dash of that. It's a fun game, and through it you can develop your own recipes to add to those collected from books and pinterest. My love for creating random recipes has begun to spill over into my life. I'm finding myself enjoying the adventure, embracing the ability to experiment every now and then, and in the process have discovered a few new life recipes. 

The most recent: Humble Pie

Here's how it goes: 

Ingredients

13 Teenagers

6 Adults

5600 Miles of Driving

50 Miles of Walking

1 Service Project

14 Hours of Sermons and Music

And lots of Peanut Butter and Jelly

Instructions

After a lengthly planning period of about 6 months, mix all ingredients together. This should be done over a period of 12 days. Throw in a few wrong turns and about 800 other teenagers from all over the country and you will have successfully created a delicious, though sometimes hard to swallow humble pie. 

How do I know this works? I recently just returned from a youth trip to the Free Methodist Youth Conference held in Fort Collins, CO. As the youth leader, I got the job of planning and coordinating this trip. I had never done anything like this before, and so I was super meticulous. I was trying to be very careful not to forget any tiny detail. I had folders and binders, copy upon copy of insurance cards. I had written a devotional packet for the ride there and back. I counted money and organized fundraisers. We held a spiritual retreat to make sure teens were spiritually ready for this event. I was hopeful that I had thought of every last detail. I didn't want anything to go wrong. However, I quickly learned that no matter how much work I had done, 

nothing would be up to me. 

None of the work I did, none of my capabilities, skills or organizational abilities were going to be what mattered. See, getting us to Colorado was simply a means to a much greater end. I wanted to see the lives of these teenagers transformed. I wanted to see them experience God and understand what it means to give their entire lives over to them. My folders and binders were not going to make that happen. Even my carefully folded devotional packets weren't going to make that transformation a reality. 

As I settled into my seat in the arena the first night, I took a deep breath and tried to settle myself down. We were barely on time for the session, having arrived late due to a wrong turn made by the vehicle I was supposed to be navigating. I took a look around at the group I was with as the lights went down. We had arrived, and suddenly the control I had was no more. Quickly the program started, and as I took in the words that were opening the event, my mind was blown. The scripture being read was the one we had done in the devotional packet that morning. I could never have made that happen on my own. That was all God.

This was not the last time this happened. Over and over again, the messages my fellow youth leaders and I had been seeking to teach the kids, were being repeated by the speakers on the stage, or were popping up in the devotionals they had provided. I eventually lost count of the amount of times I caught myself laughing at the power of God to orchestrate such perfect, seeming coincidences. Still, my determination to rely on my own abilities was controlling me. In my desire to see the kids learn, I had missed the leasing God was trying to teach me. It finally hit me towards the end of the conference.

Once again I was sitting in my seat, looking around at the group of teenagers I had found myself somehow in charge of. I was overwhelmed by a sense of inadequacy. How could I possibly lead them? How could I make sure they were allowing God to work in their hearts and speak to them? I looked up at the sky and expressed this very thought to God, and heard a clear concise answer: 

Alone, you can't, but, if you let me, through you, I can. 

I Can't. He Can. 

At that moment, I found myself humbled beyond belief. In my own human ability there is no way that I can lead these kids. There is no way that I can change their lives that they might live fully for Jesus. Only God can do that. All he is asking me to do is partner with Him. I am so excited, terrified, and humbled to be able to say, 

"Here is my life, Lord, use it as You see fit. Not through my strength and ability, but only through yours. Let my life be one continuous slice of humble pie."

Jesus Changes Everything

How the Bible is Different from a Jane Austen Novel, and Why That Matters

I’ve always loved words. Even at a young age, I thoroughly enjoyed crafting descriptive sentences that flowed beautifully on a page. I was not a very good drawer (though I often pretended to be) but I knew that I could create pictures with my words. I would sit at my desk, fashioned out of a large tote box and placed in my walk in closet, and I would write. I was all of five years old, but already the power of words had captivated me. To this day I feel drawn to classic novels that seem to be penned with great care. A well written sentence can arouse so much excitement in me that it is safe to say I am a bonafide book nerd. This great love of mine for all things literary makes it very easy for me to relate to the concept of life as a story. Seeing the Bible as God’s great narrative that I am called to live into gives me goosebumps. But I need to be careful. When I read the Bible I need to ask myself if I am looking for well crafted sentences, or if I am letting the words lift off the pages in such a way that they transform my life. 

In his book Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading, Eugene Peterson warns against a sort of upward sacrilege that can happen in reading the Bible. There is a tendency to inflate scripture with elegance and seemingly “holy” language. As much as I enjoy a good Jane Austen novel, her ancient english does not easily work itself into my everyday life. She provides me with stories for pleasure that transport me to another world, not life shaping narratives to infiltrate my very existence. 

That’s the task of scripture.

The Bible itself was written in the language of commoners. It was not written in the language of the highly educated or the elite. It was written for those on the streets in the language they used in the most mundane parts of their lives. Why? Because God sought to reveal his involvement in those very moments! The Bible is not a classic novel. It is the revelation of God to his creation. It is an invitation to see one’s own place in the story of God. 

It was Peterson’s discussion of the Lord’s prayer that drove this point home for me (pp 148-150). He speaks of the line that states, “Give us this day our daily bread.” For years people sought to spiritualize this line. After all the Greek word used here for daily was nowhere to be found, so who was to say it actually meant “daily?” It could have certainly meant something more spiritual. Why would the prayer taught by Jesus himself, one that centered around spiritual things such as the will of God and his kingdom mention something so physical as bread? It was not until an ancient document containing that very Greek word in a way that could only be translated as daily or todays that the physicality of that verse was accepted and seen. Why did this strike me? Because God does care about the physical! In the midst of glorifying God the Father, in asking for his will to be done, in repenting of sins, Jesus makes the simple request for bread. There is nothing spiritual about this. It is a felt material need, and yet Jesus speaks it. The relationship between God and his people is one that seeps into every area of life. God is not some metaphysical being sitting in the sky, uninvolved in our lives. He is not an abstract deity that cares only of our spiritual existence. He is a personal God who longs to be in relationship with us, a relationship that invades every part of life. How do we know this? Because he reveals himself to us in the ordinary. The stories told in the Old Testament are ones of family experiences and daily tasks. When Jesus walked the earth he spoke the language of the people. He walked their streets and told them stories. The Bible then cannot be viewed as a well written classic that will forever be on the New York Times bestselling list. Rather, it must be the words that define every simple, common and ordinary moment of our lives. From the confessing of our sins to the making of our bread, God is involved in it all.

Let us not turn his words into empty sentences respected only for their eloquence. Instead, let us see the earthy, physical nature of scripture and may it become the soil from which we grow into the members of God’s story we were created to be. 

Rethinking Church

I've been going to church for awhile now. Twenty-two years to be exact, and can probably count on one hand the amount of Sundays I haven't gone. Church has just always been a part of my life, but as I've begun studying to become a pastor I've really started asking, "what is the point of church?" Why do I go? What is the church supposed to be? Well my reading of the Bible, as well as various books about ecclesiology (which is just a fancy word for the study of the church), have brought me to a conclusion that stands in the face of the classical, very western way of viewing church. 

See, there's this funny view of church that has emerged in our culture. It's one that can be seen by the amount of churches on one street. It's epitomized by the phrase, "church shopping." This view of church feeds off of debates on music choices and preaching styles or whether or not video clips have any place in church. 

I call it the "Have it YOUR Way" model. 

Basically it's the idea that church is for me. It's where I go to get spiritually fed. I should be able to choose which church I want to attend based on whether or not I like the music, how comfortable their seats are and if I find the pastor engaging enough. Like being able to choose how I want my hamburger from Burger King, I should be able to choose how I want to experience church. 

I've fallen into this trap myself. I've done the church shopping, picking churches based on style rather than theology. It makes sense in our individualistic culture, but compared to the scriptural depictions of church, this "Have it YOUR Way" method is clearly missing the point. 

Paul's first letter to the Corinthians presents a clear picture of what the church is to be. From the very beginning, Paul is calling them out on the ways they are divided. The Corinthians are arguing over whose teachings they follow whether it's Paul's or Peter's and so on. Paul makes it clear; Christ is not divided. As Christians we follow Christ and Christ alone and we are to be united in doing so. Further on in this very same letter, Paul addresses another problem within their church meetings. Once again they are divided, and not only are they divided but they are not caring for one another. When they partake in the Lord's Supper, which was more a meal and not our little wafer and cup of juice model, people were looking to their own desires and not to the needs of others. Some would eat their fill while others went away hungry. Paul reminds the Corinthians that this is not the point of gathering as a church. He says, 

"So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If you are hungry, eat at home, so that when you come together it will not be for your condemnation." (1 Corinthians 11:33-34). 

Paul is stating quite plainly that church is to be a place of looking to the needs of others and filling them. It is not a place where you come to get your fill, to satisfy your needs, but rather it is to be a place where you come to serve others. That is what church is about. The church, the body of Christ, is to be a picture to the world of the Kingdom of God on earth. It is to act as an alternative community inviting people to experience the redemption and reconciliation of Jesus Christ. How can the church fulfill this purpose if it lives divided over things like coffee hour and projection screens?

As I was thinking about this topic, the words of Jesus came to mind when He says,

"For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). 

We are called to be like Jesus; He calls us to make ourselves the least instead of striving to be the greatest. What would happen if we as Christians entered church each Sunday thinking, " I am here not to be served but to serve."? How much more of a community of reconciliation would we be if that was our attitude? Instead of getting frustrated because the pastor is boring us, or we feel like the songs are too fast or too slow, what if we looked around and the people sitting next to us and thought about how we could act as a servant in their lives. What if we came to church to see how our pastor was doing instead of critiquing him or her throughout the whole service. What if instead of coming to see what we could get out of the service, we entered to see what we could give.

Let's stop viewing church as a fast-food restaurant where we can have it our way, and instead start seeing it as a family of believers dedicated to serving one another that the world might see that we serve the God of reconciled and redeemed relationships.

Let's start coming to church not to be served but to serve.