A Place to Call Home!

I’ve been reflecting a lot lately. This week marks 25 years since I came on staff at Calvary Assembly of God (that seems strange to even type). I was a young, green, almost 21 year old and stepped into a position at the church in which I grew up (the church that my father pastored for 45 years until he retired in 2008). I’ve learned a lot in 25 years and still have a lot to learn, but that’s not the focus of this blog post. I’m reflecting on relationships and the sense of home that I feel here at Calvary.

At our core we are a people of congregation.  Who we are can be defined in many ways by the depth of our relationships.  Now, how relationships are defined in each of our lives can play out in many of ways.  Some of us are more outgoing in our approach and consider everyone to be a friend.  Others may desire deep community with a few that we consider our inner circle.  Still others may find themselves floating in relationship isolation, unsure how the community thing is going to play out in their life.

Let’s focus on relationships within  the Church and see how God sees this playing out.  God defines the Church as the Body of Christ.  What does that mean!? When Christ finished his ministry on earth, he went to Heaven to be with his Father, God.  He didn’t leave us high and dry though.  He stayed with us in the form of the Holy Spirit.  You know that small still voice that guides us toward God, that gut-feeling we get at times? That’s Him.  The fact that we now have the Holy Spirit communicating Christ through us allows us to fullfil our role as Christ’s Body – the Church.

This leads me to the importance of finding a community of believers that you can call home – a community that teaches the truth of Christ as defined by the scriptures.  In a time when real geniune personal community seems to be a struggle for our society, I am thankful that I have found a church that really promotes group discipleship.  God tells us in His Word that we need to find community together as His Body.  This is how the Body of Christ is designed to function and how his truth will be effectively administered to all who are called to know Him.

I’ve seen people over the years that are so “spiritual” that they are not tied to one church body. They float here and there and never put down roots. They don’t add anything to the church where they attend on any given Sunday, because it’s always about what they can get out of it. Christ calls us to exhort one another. To edify and build up the body.  We can only do that when we put down roots, join ourselves to a local church body, and contribute to that body with our time, talent, and treasure.

If you haven’t yet – Find A Church to Call Home and be an asset to that church!