As I was reading “Doing Church” by Alexander Venter I came across a passage that made me stop and think:

“Doing” should really come from our sense of ‘being’ and ‘being’ should come from our relatedness – to the Creator of the universe for starters! The disciples were with Jesus, then He sent them out to preach (Mk 3:14). Paul teaches ‘being’ and then ‘doing’ through the body metaphor (1Cor 12:12). For example, a finger finds out who it is and what it does by virtue of where it is joined and to whom it belongs.

If I ‘hang in’ relationships long enough, and yield to those I connected with I will discover who I really am (not what I have decided I am). I will then be free to be my real self and will be empowered to fulfill what I stand for – through the relationships.

I have found very few people who have the faith for this, who take the time and trouble to entrust themselves to relationships long enough to allow themselves to reach their full potential in God. Church really is a community of birth, discovery, growth, equipping and empowerment – through the quality and longevity of our relationships.”

[@more@]The longer I know Him, the more I’m convinced that we draw near Him not by studying the Bible, attending church, listening to worship music or anything else. We draw near to Him by abiding in Him. Practically, at least in my experience, this means talking to Him drive down the road, as I work through out the day – asking Him for help when I lost a pencil or a bolt…. It’s the realization that He wants to have a relationship with us beyond the hour service on Sunday or the 15 minutes a day reading one’s Bible.

“If I ‘hang in’ relationships long enough, and yield to those I connected with I will discover who I really am (not what I have decided I am). I will then be free to be my real self and will be empowered to fulfill what I stand for – through the relationships. “

O’ how many times have I wanted to cut bait and run!  To go to a new town or job and start anew; to not have the baggage of yesterday hanging over me. Yet, it is through these very relationships that growth comes. (Granted, sometimes it does help to go to a new location before you ‘hang in’ a relationship!)