Doing Life

Growing up one of the memories I have and cherish were those few times I woke up early enough to have coffee with my Dad. I would wake up and grab a cup of coffee and go out onto the pourch with him and in the still of the crisp morning air we would drink our coffee together. I don't remember any of the conversations we had and that's ok. Instead I just remember enjoying the time with him. These are the moments where our relationship was built.

It is the same way today. If I am able to sit down with someone and have a cup of coffee or have a meal together with them it builds that relationship. It is living life with another human being. Today we are almost too busy to enjoy time with one another. Many times we don't even have time to have a family meal together. How sad. These moments are crucial in building relationships with one another. 

If you take a look at scripture and the life of Jesus there are many times that we see Him sitting down for a meal. He ate with sinners and prostitutes. He built a relationship with them. He lived life with them while they sat there and talked and ate together. Shouldn't we do the same thing? Shouldn't we be willing to slow down our schedule to allow time to live life together. To build relationships with other human being. To strengthen one another and build each other up while holding each other accountable to the things of God. Not only that but shouldn't we be willing to sit and share a meal or a cup of coffee with an unbeliever? So what if they have a beer and I have a pepsi. The drink doesn't matter, the relationship does.

So why don't we try something different. WHy don't we try to live life together. Have a meal with someone. Share a cup of coffee. Let's see if life together is better than living separate.

Gentleness

When my son was just born and I got to hold him for the first time, besides being incredibly tired from being awake all night, it was incredible to hold someone that was so incredibly small and fragile. In that moment I knew what it meant to be gentle. I was careful with how I handled my son, how I held him making sure his head was supported. Now that he is nearly three I am not nearly as gentle with him. In fact just a few minutes ago I was throwing him up as high in the air as I could to his complete joy. He loved it. In fact he kept asking me to do it again. 

It is the same way with people, especially new Christians. We have to be gentle in the way we handle other people. Sometimes we are too quick to be critical of another persons choices or life styles. Now I am not sugesting that we accept and condone a sinful lifestyle. I am however sugesting that if you have just met a person, you are not in a position to confront the issue. Instead you should handle the person with care just like you would handle a new born. As time will go on and you build a relationship with the individual you will be able to be a little rougher with them and confront them on issues in a loving way. But too often we don't allow for the time and the relationship to build to a point where we have the trust of the other individual and they can trust what we say to be in their best interest.

Faithfulness

Faithfulness. Have you ever thought about what it means to be a faithful person? I am talking about more than being faithful to a spouse, though that is very important. But are you a generally faithful person? Are you reliable?  Are you trustworthy? If I am honest with myself I have to think of the times I have let people down by not doing what I said I would do. That is not being faithful. People begin to lose respect for. The things that you do say don't carry nearly as much weight as they could because you have not proven to be faithful. 

Faithfulness is an important part of being a Christian. People need to trust you if they are going to allow you to speak into their life at all. If they can't trust you to keep your word then why would they trust you when you show them the way to Christ? Not only that but we are supposed to be representatives of Christ himself. If we aren't faithful then people will begin to associate that with the god we serve. How horrible it would be if people believed that God was only as faithful as me? Of course Gods faithfulness does not decrease because mine does, but some people will see it that way.

So... Are you being faithful?

Address to the Church

Dear Church Family

            2013 has been such an incredible year of learning and growing. Earlier this month we were excited to celebrate being here for one year. Both Kathy and I feel that we have finally found a home and a place that we can be for a very long time.

            In the last year we have seen so many people come and become a part of our church family and we thank God for them. We can take none of the credit for this and can only point to God as the one to bring people here. We want to thank each and every one of you for being welcoming and genuine. I can’t tell you how many times people have commented on how loved they feel and how relaxed of an atmosphere the church has. This is because of you. So thank you for being so welcoming.

            There has been so many people that have helped make this year go smoothly and successfully. You all know who you are and I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.

            I have had the opportunity to get to know many people within the community by working at the coffee shop, something that God clearly had a hand in. This has allowed me to see where the church can be most effective. God has laid many things on my heart, some of them I am excited to share with you others will have to wait as we continue to prepare for what God has in store.

            We are anxious for the next year and to see what opportunities God brings to us.. As God sends us people to care for and shepherd we will have to change the way we do things in order to better reach our community. Though change is never easy it will be necessary. I hope that you will join with us as some of these changes begin to happen. We are asking that you please join with us both physically and prayerfully as we seek God and his will for the church.

            It has been a privilege to serve you this past year and we look forward to many more years serving as your pastor. We thank God for you and the blessing you are to us.

For His Glory

Chris,  Kathy Russell and family