It has been many weeks since our last post. This is probably for a couple of
reasons. The first is simple – it was
exhausting to keep up the visiting and blogging. For a family that has always had a strong sense
of belonging and ownership in their local church, the “thrill” of visiting a
different church every week wore off really quickly. We learned a lot about churches, Middle
Tennessee church culture, and about ourselves.
We are grateful to the churches that welcomed us, and will forever hold
a grudge against those who did not.
Something about shaking the dust from our sandals – it’s quite
biblical.
The other reason the blogging ceased is because we
realized just how much we missed Discovery.
You might say we were/are grieving for a very real loss. The intent here is not to cause guilt or to
want others to feel sorry for us.
Simply, it would not be honest to go any further without addressing this
fact. The closer we come to feeling like
we have to make a decision about choosing a new church, and beginning the
process of getting involved, the harder we seem to struggle against it. We miss Discovery. Nothing else measures up – not even
close!
To avoid getting trapped in self-pity and “homesickness” it
would be far more productive to pause and express our increasing amazement for
what God has accomplished in bringing Discovery Church to where it is
today. It is easy to miss this when you
are caught up in the day-to-day workings of a church. You see the blemishes and struggle to figure
out the things you want to improve or fix. What we are realizing from this new vantage
point, is just how special a place Discovery is. From welcoming skeptics to building
orphanages; building a barn to becoming a community; battling negative
neighbors and learning to neighbor – Discovery is an extraordinary extension of
the Kingdom of God on Earth. We know it
is not the only place like this, but it is the only one we know personally - and we love it deeply. We thank God for all of
you who have given of yourselves to be a part of this story. We are honored and humbled to have served
with you, wept with you and rejoiced with you. Thank you Discovery!
In spite of a very real temptation to sneak into the
furthest row of the largest church we could find and bask in the glory days of
Colorado, we have actually been attending a small, nine-year old church plant
quite regularly for the past month. It
is the church that welcomed us in V2. To be honest, at times moving forward feels a
little like moving backward. It has been
hard to think about re-engaging. It has
been difficult to adopt a new family that seems smaller, needier, slower, and
unfamiliar. We want to. We feel as if we need to. Lately we have had conversations that hint at
excitement over the challenges facing this church we are getting to know. Maybe there is a passion for reaching,
growing, serving and connecting that can transfer from one place to another. We
do know this – we are not good at being guests.
We only seem to know how to belong, or at least want to belong. We could probably blame Discovery for that.
We sense your prayers and appreciate them, and you. We have met some very fine people here. We continue to move toward God, toward
community, toward involvement. There are
glimpses of purpose. There are a ton of
questions. Some that cannot be
asked. Some that we know will never be
answered (at least to our satisfaction). In our past, we have counseled others in our smug wisdom that there is no perfect
church. That sometimes people just need
to suck it up and stay engaged. Stop
asking what the church can do for you –and start asking what you can do for the
church. We suspect that God is having a
little chuckle at our expense these days.
Keep praying and stay tuned.
We intend to inflict ourselves upon this unsuspecting church very
soon. They might get tired of hearing
about Discovery when we do.
