Clay in the Hands

I had a great conversation yesterday with a gentleman about change – change in the lives of people, change in our community and change in our churches.  The cool thing about it was that the conversation was not between two people who would normally interact on this level.  We have known each other for years but really never had a deep conversation until yesterday.  How did it come about you may ask?  Twitter.  Yep, we connected over the topic of change through Twitter.  A dialogue began there and moved to a face to face meeting.  So here two guys sat, one from the Church of Christ denomination and one from the Baptist denomination, having a conversation about change in peoples’ lives and the need for a fresh movement of God’s Spirit here in our town.

Now for you who may be reading this not familiar with denominational life in a rural town, it has not been too long ago that a meeting like this would not have happened.  But the tone of the conversation and the desire in both hearts were to work together to further God’s kingdom.  It was an amazing thing.

Here’s the deal – followers of Jesus (yes, all of us) are called to take the message of love and hope to a desperate world.  But in case you haven’t noticed, its a big honkin’ world.  We are going to have to work together to accomplish God’s mission.  Walls must come down (more on that subject tomorrow).

Now before you get all flustered, no, I am not a bleeding heart that thinks we should throw away our traditions and beliefs.  Those traditions and beliefs add color and beauty to our world.  I love being a Baptist.  The doctrine I choose to follow is more in line with the Baptist belief system than others, but I do not think for a minute that I have this stuff figured out.  That is why the grace that covers me, and also covers you, is so important.

What I am saying is that there is much to do in order to further the kingdom of God and it is going to take all of us working together to see the changes in lives that only the love of God can bring.