thrive community

I met with a few people today who are interested in being small group leaders. It was refreshing to hear their hearts as well as their different perspectives on what they see as ministry. Our goal as a church is to help people get freed up to be themselves and help them to see how they can serve others with their gifts and passions, where they are.

Leah is helping us create a singles group. After our official, “blessing of the pastor” meeting, we got a chance to talk with her and get to know her a little better. She grew up Catholic and didn’t even think she would ever be back in church. She’s growing in her walk with Christ and has a great passion to create a family for single people and help them belong. As she shared her story, I could hardly keep still, or quiet for that matter. God was stirring me and encouraging me as she shared about her journey, her coming to Jesus and following after His call.

As you might have known, I started jabbering away. Being around an excited Christ follower with a willing heart and a blossoming faith is like smoking crack to this preacher man (though, I, myself have not tried it but I hope the religious people will follow my analogy without legalistic judgement!). I would rather be around a raw, vibrant, passionate Believer than a settled, bland pretender who can talk a good game of Bible trivia, does “Church” well, but their life shout out to the world around them with a resounding…”BORING!”

It’s exciting to me to see people take another step of faith. Now it doesn’t matter to me if you’ve been on the journey with Jesus for 60 years or 6 minutes, it still is a thrill to be a part of.

My buddy Ryan sent me a two page email today sharing about all that God is teaching him. He’s learning about what it means to follow Jesus and be a husband, a dad and a worker that seeks to glorify God in every area of his life. Ryan’s been a Christian for a season, but God is drawing him and calling him to take another step. His heart is open, honest, real and authentic. I could feel the Holy Spirit at work in his heart as I read his story of God’s inner working, moving him towards repentance, confession, vision, dreams and passion. The ecstasy of human existence.

I believe that God gives us grace, not for the finish line, but for the next step. Sometimes we want God to do everything all at once. We may want an answer, but God wants a relationship. It’s a relationship to move us towards trust that God is going to keep His promise, not just an answer, but what our heart is really looking for: “a hope and an future.”

What’s your next step? I’m not just talking about what you’re going to do, but what you’re going to release. The willingness to just take a step instead of demanding all the resources for the finish line means letting go. I believe it will free you to be in the moment, to discover the joy of life “in the now” and have the freedom of heart to move from self-absorbtion.

It’s hard, but necessary for our soul to release control and let God be God in us. So…..just take a step.

What do you think?