Some thoughts

As much as we all seem to search to hear only that which affirms our current direction and lifestyle, I am continually brought to me knees when someone finally tells me what I need to hear. I need to hear the words that stop me in my tracks and require me to reflect on my life and the direction I am headed. Christianity is not another add-on to our life. "Now that I am a christian I have extra does and don'ts to incorporate into my life." The decision to follow Christ and to be continually transformed into his likeness changes everything about us. WE CANNOT STAY THE SAME.

I have been reading Church as Counterculture and I am reminded over and over that the Church has to be distinct. This is part of it's core identity, being set apart as God's people and to be a manifestation of the presence of God in the world.

So I will leave you with some thoughts that have reminded me of my identity.

"Discipleship means complete dedication. It demands everything - the whole heart, the whole mind, and the whole of life, including one's time, energy, and property - for the cause of love. Half-hearted Christianity is worse than no Christianity."
J. Heinrich Arnold

The Blog Community

Unfortunately, I am not so sure this would have been the way God envisioned community for his world, but I guess we take what we can get. I have this really bad habit of spending too much time reading blogs. I validate my habit with excuses that it keeps me connected with people all over the world, I can keep up with friends, broaden my worldview, etc. All of these things are true but really, I can't really justify the time I spend day in and day out one the computer.

You may be asking yourself, "She works for a church and is full time grad student. How does she have time?" I really have not been able to justify this time spent until today. As I was parusing through the blogs I regularly read, I came across a post that was singing my song. Another female seminary student looking for community. We dont know each other nor will we probably ever meet. But now we both know that there are others out there that see the world a little differently that those around us. We often feel like the odd man out (no pun intended)in our schools and in our churches. This is not to say that people are unkind or sensitive. I guess I just feel misunderstood.

I am not out to save the world, although at times I wish I could. I am not out to change or stir up trouble in the Lord's church, although at times I think God is calling us all to be changed. I merely want to offer the gifts that God has given me to the service of his emerging kingdom.

All this is to say, I found a sense of community in one of the most unlikely places.