An unbelievably oversimplistic description of how we got here
Friday, March 27, 2009 at 11:35PM Not knowing how to begin this blog, I decided to start at the beginning. I am going to give an unfairly short synopsis of my church's history before I just start giving random accounts of life together.
Once upon a time, a man in Waco named Jeff came to see that Christ is Life. That He is everything. That He not only came to forgive us of sins, but to live His life in us. He tried to share this new revelation with anyone who would listen. Some did. Some did not.
Jeff had an opportunity to teach a weekly college bible study on the Baylor University campus. He prayed that God would send him college students who were hungry to know the Lord in a deep and intimate way. Eventually, God answered that prayer.
It started with a few, but soon became a critical mass. Somewhere between 10-20 college students would come weekly, learning about what I like to call the other 2/3 of the gospel. The first third is that Jesus came, died, and forgave us of our sins. The second third is that God gives us the life of Jesus to do what we cannot do on our own. He is in us. The third third is that God has an Eternal Purpose, and that purpose is to have a people, a nation, the Bride, the House of God.
When this critical mass of people took hold of all the three parts of the gospel, lives began to be transformed. Connection was made with Gene Edwards and the ministry he has done in helping people discover an indwelling Lord and how to be His church outside of organized religion. Eventually, a retreat was held where Gene came and spoke along with people he was working with. Reactions to the retreat were mixed, and some felt Gene was too harsh toward the institutional church. Others empathized with the harshness toward organized religion and appreciated the Christ that was shared. But overall, ties with Gene Edwards and his work were very loose, at best.
After initial hope for transformation within the local organized church that some of us attended, it became apparent that this new revelation could potentially lead to division, rather than transformation.
After much prayer and discussion, people decided to leave this particular local church and meet in homes, outside of the typical church organization common in America today. Not all were excited about this idea, but there was consensus that this was the way the Lord was leading.
That was June 2001. For the last 8 years, we have been experiencing churchilfe together as best as we know how. There have been ups and downs. People have come and gone. But overall, it has been one of the most beautiful and hardest things I have ever been a part of. We try to stay centered on Jesus Christ, love each other deeply, and be a functioning, local church that makes God known.
So that's my unbelievably, oversimplistic description of how got here. While I may talk about the last 8 years from time to time, I imagine most of my writing focusing on the present.
Reader Comments (4)
Excited for your blog, Rish! I really like what you said about the "other 2/3 of the gospel." That's what our church here is all about, too - seeing how the gospel is not just about the moment we trust in Christ and are saved from our sins, but for every moment of life for the body of Christ.
So glad you're blogging Rishi! The blog looks great.
I'll be reading.
enjoyed your post and especially the part of the gospel being in thirds great way to share it.
Thank you brother for sharing this with me and letting me know that others are being led to share their organic church life experiences. They serve as a window into what Christ is doing "behind the scenes" of religious Christianity. I would definitely like to hook up with you in the future. Stay in touch!