Over lunch early yesterday afternoon with one of my colleagues, a dear friend of mine (J) who I am working with on his ordination process, the subject of what is it that we as pastors hope for in our churches came up for discussion. Just before or during the middle of this (I don't remember which), a mutual friend of ours called him to shoot the breeze. This friend and I have not talked in about six years (no animosity or anything - just life intervening) but when I found out it was him on the phone I got on and did 5-10 minutes of catching up. What was great about it was that even though he and I had not talked in a long time, we picked up without missing a beat. In the middle of a routine Tuesday over a late lunch in a sandwich shop in Lafayette, an old friend re-entered my life, even if for a few brief minutes.
Later on in the conversation, after J and I had gotten off the phone with our friend, we went back to the subject mentioned first in this column and I shared with J that one of the things that I hope for in the churches that I serve is that they are places where relationships are developed and formed to the depth that even after a six-year (or longer) break in conversation things pick up like there was no break. As we talked further, we got into what goes into seeing that kind of vision come to fruition. The bottom line we came up with was that it must become our very nature to invest ourselves in one another to the depths that do not come when we breeze in and out of the sanctuary on Sunday mornings, barely talking to anyone (and certainly not those people whom we do not know). It must become our very nature to seek out these relationships. After all, if we as the body of Christ are not willing to invest in one another, why should we expect anyone to invest in us? If we, as the body of Christ, are not willing to take a chance to invest in those whom we don't know who come into our fellowship, why should we expect them to feel as though we
Whether or not it will be another six years before the mutual friend of ours and I talk again, I do not know. I hope not, but if it works out that way, I know that the bonds that we formed during the time we were a part of the same Christian community are stronger than the separation of a few years.
Could the same be said if you left Pharr Chapel and didn't come back for six years? I'm not talking about people you grew up with or worked with, but those people whom you got to know solely through your connection to this community of faith.
See you Sunday!
Lamar
Later on in the conversation, after J and I had gotten off the phone with our friend, we went back to the subject mentioned first in this column and I shared with J that one of the things that I hope for in the churches that I serve is that they are places where relationships are developed and formed to the depth that even after a six-year (or longer) break in conversation things pick up like there was no break. As we talked further, we got into what goes into seeing that kind of vision come to fruition. The bottom line we came up with was that it must become our very nature to invest ourselves in one another to the depths that do not come when we breeze in and out of the sanctuary on Sunday mornings, barely talking to anyone (and certainly not those people whom we do not know). It must become our very nature to seek out these relationships. After all, if we as the body of Christ are not willing to invest in one another, why should we expect anyone to invest in us? If we, as the body of Christ, are not willing to take a chance to invest in those whom we don't know who come into our fellowship, why should we expect them to feel as though we
Whether or not it will be another six years before the mutual friend of ours and I talk again, I do not know. I hope not, but if it works out that way, I know that the bonds that we formed during the time we were a part of the same Christian community are stronger than the separation of a few years.
Could the same be said if you left Pharr Chapel and didn't come back for six years? I'm not talking about people you grew up with or worked with, but those people whom you got to know solely through your connection to this community of faith.
See you Sunday!
Lamar
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