Reunion Church

I said a little about Reunion Church yesterday but I wanted to say some more.

I think that is a beautiful group of people.

1. They are so friendly; when people have decided to defer to others and to intentionally reach out to people of all races, classes, backgrounds you naturally have a very warm congregation.
2. They interact authentically every Sunday as they pass a mic around the congregation to hear praises and prayer needs. (This is a large theater with probably 200 in attendance.) One lady praises God that her nephew is feeling better, a man tells of his car accident and how God is getting glory through the trial, a couple announces thev've set their wedding date. It's raw and real and up-to-the-minute.
3. The meet-and-greet time is 7 minutes long so that everyone can get to know new people and catch up with friends
4. Their pastor is truly blown away at what God has done for him personally in saving him and it shows
5. After the service I was standing in the hallway with my parents while Debbie went to get the kids. Evidently my mom must have not looked overly happy because an African-American woman wearing a very happy face came up to her and said "Oh honey...honey... SMILE!" and gave her a kiss on the cheek and a hug".

Ministry to people of diverse ethnicity, age, and socio-economic level is hard. It is messy. It is an attitude of constant service to others instead of constant comfort for self.

But, it is right. It is fun. It is interesting. It is life-giving. I was alive in church yesterday.

Stoked

We heard a great message today at Reunion Church. The talk was called "Stoked"... as in "are you stoked about your relationship with God?" Sometimes we can feel like the fire is gone and all that remains is ash. But............ there are still embers faintly glowing... if only we can remEMBER all that God has done for us in Christ and stoke the diminishing fire back into hot flame!

How do we keep the fire burning everyday? I think one way is to be in God's word and to memorize it... to internalize it... to act on it.

Several of us are memorizing in Ephesians 2. So far the verses are about looking back at our dead existence before meeting Christ. Once we think back about our pre-Christ lives, we'll then (through the subsequent verses) be able to remEMBER the great distance Christ has brought us and be stoked about another day with Him.

TODAY'S ASSIGNMENT:
No new verse today. We'll add Eph 2:4 tomorrow on "New Verse Monday".
For today, just work on reciting Eph 2:3 a few times without looking. Make sure to say 2:1-2 together with 2:3 a few times today so that you keep reinforcing 2:1-2 while learning 2:3.