meditatio at the water's edge

Rich Mullins is playing over the stereo downstairs in the family room. One of the beautiful things about this old farmhouse is that sounds travel. Rich is singing; Kathy is cleaning in the kitchen, and Anna is playing. All can be heard. I love hearing those sounds.

I don't know if you ever had the opportunity to experience Rich Mullins in concert, but he was incredible. He was odd. He was imaginative. He pushed his audience. He mocked the church; he made a Christ follower feel eerily uncomfortable; he made people think... he often asked if the people of God were becoming the kind of people that Christ and the Scriptures require of us.

Kathy and I were just conversing about water's edge... we've had the opportunity to become a bit too comfortable in recent months - perhaps even the past year. We are moving friends. I sense we are uncomfortable with not 'gathering' on Sunday nights. I sense the Spirit of God among us. I smell his goodness.

Sometimes we wonder why people are not so inclined to join us... perhaps we shouldn't take this too hard. If we are attempting to be a group of Christ followers who are different, who challenge the current forms of the church, then perhaps we are doing just a bit of what Christ requires of us.

It seems odd to me that Christians in America have allowed themselves to be defined by the size of their church, the quality of their pastor's sermon/speech, the denomination they attend, or the amount of good informative biblical information they were fed at the worship gathering. Hear me out...

Why don't we put more stock in the quality of our relationships, the ability of those relationships to grow for a lifetime, the gays and lesbians (social outcasts) who we are hanging out with in our society, the ability for us to be truly giving people... I am not saying water's edge is doing this stuff so well; I am just asking why these are not the 'true marks' of the church. If we are serious about the gospel, it just seems they are more biblically in line with the heart of Jesus... that's all.

Please read Joel's thoughts below. I believe they fit well with these thoughts...

In Him.