“
That was then and this is now. Things are different today.”
I didn’t buy his answer.
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I was in my early 20′s , experiencing a spiritual hunger and restlessness I hadn’t gone looking for it…
it had popped out of the ground of my life like a mushroom.
One minute I was minding my own business, doing my own thing, the next thing I knew, there was a hungry for something spiritual that was real.
It started when I read the following account:
“All the believers continued together in close fellowship and shared their belongings with one another. They would sell their property and possessions and distribute the money among all, according to what each one needed. Every day they continued to meet as a group in the temple, and they had their meals together in their homes, eating the food with glad and humble hearts, praising God and enjoying the good will of all the people. and every day the Lord added to their group…”
Just for a second, try not to get hung up in the “churchy” words and just try to imagine what it would be like to be involved with people on that level of relationship…
Certainly not like any church experience I’d ever had.
I tend to chew on stuff like this, So there I was at work one morning, setting up scaffolding with Lester. He was in his 60′s, an old retired farmer. minding his own business, and there I was, wound tight, asking him about deep spiritual things on a construction site. 
You got to love him ….we’d worked together for a few years so he didn’t just write me off as some nut job.
His answer didn’t satisfy me but I let it go…..
There was a major disconnect when I would read about the 1st century Christians and what passes for “Christianity” today.
A major disconnect
I have a hair trigger when it comes to hypocrisy and phoniness.
I have been known to get agitated and leave the room.
What happened was, my hunger for deeper, genuine relationships actually increased.
We’re all at different places in our lives. As I’m writing this, I’m talking to someone who is spiritually hungry, but put off by organized religion.
Ever wonder how you can sort out all of the conflicting voices out there telling you this is truth…no, this is truth…no, there is no such thing as absolute truth, all paths will eventually lead you to the truth…bla bla bla.
Here’s a tip- look @ the person or the source of who’s talking to you and look at their life...If they’re married do they seem to have a healthy marriage or does it feel phony. If they have children…do they look like they’re nurtured, or is something not quite right? Does this person for some weird reason give you the creeps? (don’t discount that sort of thing/ I think it’s discernment)
We moved to the East Coast so I could pursue some schooling. A local faith community took us under their wing, full of imperfect but genuine people who had also decided they wanted nothing to do with the phony crap that passes for “church” today. It was there I had my thirst for deep significant relationships slaked. We were there 5 years. When we did eventually return to the Midwest, I brought back with me the know-how , the first hand experience on how to cultivate those same type of relationships….genuine, loving, trusting, practical and real.
Reminds me of doing an internship at an organic farm for 5 years.
After 5 years you would hopefully come away with the ability to grow fresh vegetables.
So here I sit this morning thanking God for the spiritual hunger and restlessness he puts into my heart so many years ago now and for the ways he regularly satisfies it. DM
Tags: Christianity, faith, food, house church, Minisry, organic, personal, relationships, religion, spiritual hunger, spirituality
May 8, 2012 at 12:12 pm |
Dear DM! I love the example of the organic farm.
Wouldn’t that be nice if churches were actually more like an organic farm and less like a McDonalds? I always wondered if such churches actually exist or is it only wishful thinking, since people are bound to want to mask themselves from others. At least in what I have seen. I could only see unmasking in smaller group settings, where the whole environment is more trustful and personal. How can this happen in the bigger church? I wonder about this often, actually. Because I don’t even go to a bad church. Not really legalistic, but I rather see an over-spirituality that is unreal to me. But I can also see that so many people do not want to show themselves in a larger setting, but you would really have to know them personally to not get a cliché answer. Except my pastor, he is very real and he is a really good example. Thanks for the post.
June 16, 2012 at 5:26 pm |
I have enjoyed reading this. Where do you/ how do you go about finding a “church” like you have described?
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After we left the East coast, I kept in touch with several of those people. Some of them went on to other parts of the country and longed for the depth of relationship we had all enjoyed together…I have not lacked for it ever since we moved in 1990. I think part of the answer is, people take their ques from us. I tend to be transparent, so when I’m facilitating a small group, etc. that encourages other people in the group to open up their lives. Many local churches today..especially some of the larger ones, will also have “small groups” (care groups, cell groups, etc) that meet outside of regular large group meeting times. the fellowship I was describing tends to flourish more so in those smaller settings. Let me know if you’d like to interact about this more. We’re all @ different places in our lives…some of us are drawn to this sort of fellowship, others of us, for what ever reason, prefer to live more guarded lives. DM