well, i've been to 5 churches so far (evergreen, imago dei, the bridge, vibrant, and ethnos) i'm amazed that there are so many great emerging churches in portland. and i feel like each one of these churches have their own personality, which i like. all the churches are under 150 on sunday, with the exception of imago dei. all of them have an emphasis on community (and i'm curious how that plays out in the church...is it just one of their values or do they really have community?)
i would love to go other things at these churches to see what it is like. because sunday just doesn't tell me enough. is their service really a reflection of their community or just a reflection of the leaders?
i have to say that going to the bridge yesterday challenged me so much. i think the reason that i value community so much in churches is because i long for deep relationships and it seems that with each place travis and i move, our church becomes our family in some way. i also think that community is a huge way God speaks into my life and challenges me.
i've been a part of countless discussion on what community means, the challenges of it, why we need it, but i have to say i learned something about community yesterday at the bridge, simply by being there. i saw community in a different way than i have seen community before.
i say that i want diversity and want to be around people that think differently than i do. and i think i do, but how far am i really willing to go. i say that i want to be a part of church that truly embodies social justice...not just "reaching out" but being in relationship with the "needy". and that's what i saw at the bridge. they had free food to hand out, clothes to hand out...and people attending the service actually needed those things. (i'm use to those kinds of things taking place some other time, not during church, god forbid) ...do i really want to be friends with people i'm not sure how to connect with? would i rather go out and "serve" these people and then go back to my happy little community to have my friends? do i really want to live among the needy? (and can i see them for who they are and not just label them as needy) do i really want to be in community with people that aren't like me? it's given me a lot to think about. it makes me think about how God intended community and what my part is.
1 comment:
That is truly amazing. Being directly involved with those less fortunate is something I DEFINITELY miss @ Solomons Porch. Other aspects of my life fill that need to be friends with and help those with less fortune directly although it makes it harder to bring Christ into the equation that way (without seemingly pushing it). One thing that I find is that it really helps you stay humble and keep focused on what is really important and truly matters in life. Staying comfortable (warm in the cold etc.), Food and the people in your life are what really counts. It really helps me stay grounded in many ways as well. It's so sad to see how disconnected from those less fortunate our society allows us to be thus saying hey "those people" aren't like me. U'd be amazed how many "regular" people I have met on the streets that had one bad thing after another happen and they just lost there life in the burbs and slipped into a bad place. & Yes sadly for every 1 real story there are 3 scammers/druggies ( bad choice) so it makes it look bad for the really bad off honest people. Anyways, I miss y'all! I really hope y'all R well. I created a Blog ring for SP
http://kinja.com/user/Solomons_Porch
making it easy to check in how people are doing and so you could set up a link (if U wanted) for all the SP Blog's. Please let me know if I'm missing anyone you know of or if you feel like U should B included.
Peace & Love, Erik =/
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