the capital "C" Church

Last summer I went to Kenya. To say it was life-changing is an understatement. It wrecked me. It introduced me to a radical faith I'd never known before. The experience teaches me lessons still today.
I'm sure these blogs will have finger prints of my time in Kenya as I continue to write. Here is a journal entry I thought I would share that I wrote while debriefing in Nairobi - days before we flew back home to the States. It was during this time that God began to really put the Church on my heart, and this passion continues to intensify. I'm daily trying to discover what the Lord wants me to do with this renewed passion for the Body. I desperately want to surrender to His will. Why is that a daily struggle for me? Praise God for His patience and grace.


Kenya- Journal Entry: 7/31/07

I feel that the biggest problem with Christianity in the U.S. is that while people believe in God, they lack a dependency on God.
Most Christians I've met here in Kenya have no choice but to rely on the Lord. There are no fancy hospitals to go to when they're sick, no fancy house to call home, no idea when their next meal will be, and work is hard to come by.
They truly believe and trust that the Lord will provide...and He does. They have an unwavering faith, and in faith, God works.
Jesus tells us, "Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the Kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:23).
For those who have wealth, dependency easily focuses inward. Comfortable living is a dangerous thing. The Almighty becomes a teddy bear. He comforts, loves, forgives, and blesses. He is no more than a close friend.
The Lord is bigger than that.
He wants us to see Him as our Provider. He wants us to fear Him, and Him only.
"Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf" (Proverbs 11:28). Those who do have riches should use them for God's glory rather than their own. The church in Acts understood this concept. "There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need" (Acts 4:34-35). Those who had plenty provided for those who had none. If a family was without food, the entire community would fast until they were fed.
The book of Acts is not a story of the past as much as it is instructions for the present. We are called to live in community.
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world" (James 1:27). We are called to care. We are called to love. If Jesus really meant what he said when he commanded us to "love our neighbor as ourself", then no one should be living on the streets. No one should fall asleep at night with an empty stomach, or a shivering body.
Church, it is time to be the Church. We are not an institution. We are a people. A Body of believers. Why do we hesitate? The time is now. For a culture that is so impatient, why do we wait?