This is Our Story…and the Story Continues

This past weekend, Sam, Morgan, and myself were in Baton Rouge, LA for the biannual Great Rivers Region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Conference. It was great to be around so many loving and striving Christians. I say loving because the focus was on caring for each other by telling our stories. We love one another and we let each other know. We showed this love by sharing meals together, helping each other work out ministry issues and problems, caring for our neighbors by filing 50 Hurricane Clean Up kits and loading them into the Just Love trailer to send to St. Mary’s Parish as a point place for helping our neighbors still struggling from the recent hurricanes. 

The Disciples were striving by wrestling with real world issues like climate change, Israeli and Palestinian Conflict, and the rise of Christian Nationalism. There was good, Christian debate, but we all agreed that there is a reason to pray for and with all the world and brothers and sisters struggling with conflict externally or internally. 

Sam and I presented on the topic of Re-Missioning. We both agree that the church in America is going through a major shift. Our country's dynamics, society, and culture is shifting away from Christian America to Post-Christian America. As I have said many times in the past, this is NOT a bad thing. We need some changes, we need to take a deep look at ourselves and really ask the question: are we following Jesus on this path or are we following Caesar? Is it the Spirit (Geist) that we listen to or is it the Spirit of the world (zeitgeist or culture) that determines where we go?

We choose to follow the Spirit. The Spirit leads us into uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous places. But, behold, God is with you and for you. That is the conclusion Sam put well. We at Just Love will strive to be like Christ by being with people and being for people. We believe this is what Jesus did and continues to do (Matthew 25). My friends, be thankful for the love we have in our community. From The Great River Region, our ecumenical partners, our neighbors, to our little motley crew of volunteers; be thankful and live into the re-mission of loving God and neighbor above all else.

Zac