when church happens

Last night, Byron arranged for the two of us to meet with Jon and Mark for supper, primarily to discuss God's prompting on their heart to leave their ministry credibility behind and start house churches. We ate a wonderful meal that Jon's wife prepared and settled to the living room.

These are my favorite moments. While I have been wrestling with God's anointing to lead for some time, I know that the Spirit has empowered me to reveal God's purposes to those that are hungry and seeking, and to see the "ripeness" of these two men to hear the word of God fueled my fire for obedience. And isn't it always like that with His gifts and purposes for our lives? We feel completely inadequate because we perceive the task through our own weakness, but when we are filled with the Spirit there is nothing else we'd rather do than His work.

I shared that being a "house church" wasn't the point; that there are many house churches that cling to the same idolatry of the world that the established church has. The point is allowing Him to build His Body around sacrifices that serve Him: the consecration of His people, the appropriate use of His resources for going and meeting the needs of the broken, and engaging in a pure worship offered in the joy of His presence rather than for self-promotion or demonstrating talents.

I've been honest with the last two church starts that I've been a part of: God hasn't wired me to find my joy in the week-to-week operations of the Body, lest I cling to the community and resist being used to start new works. He has allowed me to receive my blessings through the difficult and sometimes lonely ministry He has given me: to call His people out of retreat and into spiritual holiness. Outside of my personal time with Him, this is the only ministry through which He has allowed me to experience an overwhelming joy.

I could sit around coveting the fulfillment that most would receive through their local community, but I would be denying His anointing, and any fulfillment received otherwise would only be in meeting the needs of my flesh. The corner that I need to turn is perseverance; I need to find my rest in Him alone, and stop reaching out to the products that fulfill the world to hold me over. When I see Him on the move, I thirst for His Spirit, and if I would stop grieving the Spirit by rejecting His anointing, I would never go dry...I would never be alone.

Church happens when the interaction and sacrifice of believers speaks of the Lord's fame and glory. Oh how amazing it would be, to present His Bride to the world and speak solely of the wondrous mysteries of Christ!