Today I’m visiting Grace Church in Arvada Colorado. Its located just off 70th and Sheridan by the Walmart.
The forecast has rain all day in Colorado, a first this Spring but its just after noon and we’re yet to see more than a few sprinkles. I woke up early this morning and felt inspired. I read a double dose of my daily Bible reading before heading out the door this morning for the service at Grace.
I get a great sense of community and genuineness from the congregation. I get this sense in three ways, I’ll explain why. As I was walking to the sactuary I was genuially greeted by three individuals. By genuine I mean they looked me in the eyes and I could actually feel they were happy I was there. This church isn’t commercialized. Each functioning member of this church’s body was there in a role and they all knew it.
They opened with worship music. Two of the songs they played were easiliy recognizable and definately got me in the mood to listen to whatever Paster Long had to say. Following the opening music the leaders invited us to introduce ourselves to the people around us. They gave us plenty of time to stand up and even walk around to greet others if we wanted to–which I appreciated. Of the people I met I actually exchanged names with a few of them, which I found welcoming.
The Sermon
I’ll start out by clarifying this is the message I received and interpreted as a result of listening to Pastor Long’s message.
For me, the message today was about what it truly means to become part of Christ’s Single Body in the church. Here is the peice of scripture referenced during the service that I’m going to dive in to.
But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? (1 Corinthians 12:18, 19 ESV)
This peice of scripture hit me, hard. I’ve been searching for this answer for quite some time now and I feel like this was the message I needed to hear today. I have a role, but is my role being clearly defined? Within myself is where the role ought to be defined. I’ve been allowing the external to play a role in my conscious decision making instead of just allowing what is [my role] to grow and manifest to maturity.
I think back to the movie “Jobs” starring Ashton Kutcher that I watched a couple of weeks ago. In the movie Steve [Ashton] had a board meeting where he was negotiating becoming the CEO of Apple again. In the meeting one of Steve’s sticking points was that “we are not Microsoft or Dell.” His influence and encouragement was to push Apple to be something different, something more that catered to helping people. His vision was to listen to what the consumer wanted to see, and make those features the consumer wanted stand out. Not only stand out, but to be the core reason why people come to Apple for their technology needs. His point is to grow what currently is by incorporating the wants and needs of the majority while embracing our current roles.
So how do I relate this back to my personal role in the body of Christ? However I define it, the truth is at the present time I have one. Within myself I ponder the question, what makes my role in the church unique? Where can my ideas, creativity and work ethic fit in with the body of Christ?
Let’s expand on this. Pastor Long said it best:
“God wants you to identify who you are, and why you’re here. Your job is to glorify God whether you’re a doctor, lawyer or plumber–your job is no less sanctified than mine. You’re supposed to do it for the glory of God…Once you’ve identified what your purpose is, put it into the practice, and stay committed.”
Through writing to this blog I have found that I do have a role (as small as that role may be.) Having just one other person read about how I’m growing in my faith is fulfilling my role. I’m writing for me, I’m writing for you, I’m writing to fulfill my role in the body of Christ.
There are several roles you can fill to allow your role in Christ’s body to manifest. Stop and think about the role Christ has bestowed you. Where do you feel value in your every day life? How can you do more to embrace that value? Pray on it. Make certain the direction you’re going is the direction you’re being called. Allow God’s embrace to come down on your path and encourage you :).
Ubiquitously speaking our calling is to simply be present in church [creating community]. Being present is playing the most significant role in growing Christ’s body. Our presence alone has the power to move mountains. To be frank, being intentional about surrounding yourself with others who are chasing God will open doors for you. Allowing Grace to overwhelm your spirit gives you a clear conscious. To become One with the body of Christ is to allow your vocation to find you.
Thankyou Pastor Long and the entire Grace Church family for having me today. I look forward to visiting again soon :).
My question for discussion:
How has simply being present in your church changed you, or even a close friend of yours? I invite you to share your story.
Have a great week and God Bless :) – Heath