community

today i appreciate: Biblical community

i know this word is thrown around a lot, especially here at HMCC.  sometimes i think its thrown around so much that the real, true, and raw power of its definition has faded over time into a part of the church culture's casual lingo.  because of that, i think that the Biblical community i have experienced here over the past 5 years is something i have taken for granted.  i know that there are definitely more than a handful of people out there who have not-so-nice things to say about HMCC.  and though i've had my disagreements with Harvest at times, i will always stand by the fact that this church is a place where true Biblical community occurs.  i know this for a fact because i've witnessed it, i've felt it, and i wont ever budge from what i have experienced. 

take tonight as an example:

we had several members in our lg who couldn't afford to go the undergrad retreat.  i remember when the first person expressed a need, i was kind of excited to see how God would grow our community, picturing a fund that we could set up as a lg to support this one member.  but then when other needs arose, i started to panic.  how were we going to raise enough money for these people to go to the retreat?  the more i prayed, the more desperate i got.  i cant say i lacked complete faith, but yes, confession, i didnt fully trust and believe.  there was still that hint of doubt and worry.  i had a committed member keep track of the fund, and without even knowing how much our own lg had raised, i emailed the leaders in our church (under the advice of one of the few older brothers whom i trust and respect) and asked for support.  i expected maybe a couple people to respond but God had completely blown my expectations out of the water.  He went above and beyond what i had imagined.  not only were people from different life stages responding but several lg's responded by giving generously.  by the end of tonight, we had surpassed our goal by 300%.  Praise God!

when one of the lg's gave one of their very very very generous donations tonight, i was moved to tears.  which was pretty embarrassing because i didnt really know the male leader, and honestly, i hate hate hate hate crying in front of guys (i know.  pride).  but i couldnt help it.  when the leaders gave me the envelope overflowing with their donation and love, tears just started to fall.  i was so touched, not only by their generosity and support, but also by God's amazing faithfulness.  when i was lacking faith as a leader, God went above and beyond my expectations and imagination.  He showed me that He can do so much more than i thought.  and He showed me that He loves this life group so much.  even when i wasnt trusting or believing or praying, God had this group on His mind the whole time.  its so clear that He loves this group and He wants to do great things.

but anyways, im getting side-tracked.  tonight was a beautiful example of Biblical community.  the partnership of this church and our leadership and our different ministries is absolutely astounding.  not only is it poignant but i see that it is truly not powered by human emotions and efforts but by the grace and love that Jesus has for His people.  i hope that i will be able to find a community as Biblically-based and Christ-centered as this one here in ann arbor when i move onto the next chapter of my life.