8.02.2012

#NeedaNameChurch

Last night, immediately after I finished my last post... I packed up my stuff and drove over to the church for a meeting. This meeting wasn't a meeting for CCC, but rather a meeting for a future church plant that is going to take place right here in Columbus, IN. Now, there's a couple of things that directly relate to last night's post, so if you haven't read the one about W.W.J.D. and Chic-Fil-A go do it, it will help make some of this a little more clear. Let's start though with exactly what happened last night...

Holy Spirit. That sums it up, 100% accurately. That little room we were in last night, about 30 or so people, was absolutely filled with the Holy Spirit. We opened with prayer, then some worship. Man, at one point during about the second or third song I began to pray, and not for myself. The things I prayed for were that my brothers, Chris and Aaron, and the rest of the church plant team would continue to seek guidance, wisdom, leadership, truth, understanding, peace, and direction. I prayed that God would give them desire, motivation, strength, endurance, and impact. He answered right then and there. I was overwhelmed by the presence of the Holy Spirit, it gave me chills. I felt like God was telling me, reassuring me, that what these brothers of mine were being called to do was going to be bigger than anything we could fathom. I don't mean bigger in the terms of size, but bigger in impact. That God was going to rock Columbus, IN because of #NeedaNameChurch. I couldn't wait to hear what Chris had to say, I was already incredibly moved by the worship he led...

Then it happened. Chris got up in front of us, and started to speak... and I don't mean that he said words, I mean he spoke to us. Straight from the heart, truth and wisdom that GOD himself placed there. Chris spoke with authority, authority not to be confused with arrogance. He didn't speak as if he knew everything, in fact he admitted that he wasn't qualified to plant a church, that he believes no one is really qualified, but with God it's not about qualifications. There are a couple of things that really excited me about what Chris said, and this is where it starts to relate to my post from yesterday. The vision for this church is to love everyone. They want to be a church that presents the gospel in a real way, and shoves it in people's faces. They want people in their church that want to know Jesus, that love Jesus, that have no idea who Jesus is because, as Chris said, everyone matters. I think it was a testament to what this church is going to accomplish as far as disciple making goes that Chris started off with talking about what church plant was NOT about. It was not about getting people's money, not about stealing away people from other churches.. it was about loving people, reaching people, and answering the call that Christ put on two guys' hearts. It's also an answer to what I was so frustrated with yesterday, it was God saying "I hear you".

I had been praying for quite some time about helping Chris and Aaron in any way I could with the church plant. I was hesitant to approach them myself, so I waited for an opportunity. Last night was that opportunity. I went up to Chris after and told him I was all-in. I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself, and living for someone bigger than myself. What that looks like-- I don't know. I do know I am excited to see what this is going to transform into. I have already personally witnessed the way this vision has transformed the lives of the people involved in the planning. I have seen immense growth in Chris, Aaron and many others including my best friend. It pushed me to want to focus more on the things I need to be doing for Christ, for myself in Christ. It made me want to pursue growth of a more intimate relationship with Jesus. For that, I am very thankful.

Be on the lookout, there are going to be a lot more posts about #NeedaNameChurch, about conversations that I'm sure I will have with Chris and Aaron, about the way God is preparing to rock this city, and about direction for our lives. This isn't just about the local church, it's about the universal church. God is going to use Columbus, IN to help change the world, and grow the Kingdom. I am excited, and anxious.

#NeedaNameChurch coming to Columbus, IN Easter 2015 --- and seriously, they are still waiting on a name!

Grace and Peace

1 comment:

  1. Sent you an email... please read.. This is very exciting

    ReplyDelete