LOVE YOURSELF

“Love your neighbor as yourself.” It isn’t the first three words that have challenged me these past few months but the last. Can I get a pass on the last so I can do the first?

Richard Rohr paraphrases Augustine, “God cannot be found “out there” until God is first found “in here,” within ourselves, as Augustine (354–430)”

We tend to focus less on the love of self and more on the outward expression of love through us. Jesus seems to challenge this idea that we can bypass the “love of self” in loving others well.

Time and time again my experience tells me differently. When I am lacking in my sleep I am irritable and I don’t love my family and those around me well.

If I am not loving myself well or treating myself well… I can’t love others well.

One of our values as a church is authenticity. We really do want people to come as they are. We want people to be themselves and to be their most authentic self.

Just so people aren’t confused at what we mean. Regardless of your political affiliation, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, introvert, extrovert, etc,. You BE you. To us, it isn’t complicated. Although life is complex…

one thing that is simple for us… is the belief that each one of us are really remarkable people that God created. And we are all becoming and figuring out this crazy life together.

And we believe for us to be able to love others well… we must first wrestle with this idea… that we are God’s beloved creation. Not a mistake. Not a sin. Created through and for love.

In fact the greatest temptation that Jesus faced in the wilderness was to be something and someone he was not.

For some, this might sound like a selfish spirituality. We have equated humility as the absence of self. But the mystery of it all is that the essence of humility is the love and embrace of self. The self that God created. It is the denying of the worldly voice and acceptance of a voice that calls us beloved. It is only from this place that we can love others well.

The mystery of this love is that the more we love ourselves we love others. And in loving others we are affirmed even more in our creation of who God created us to be.

So hear this… God loves you. You. Yourself. God created you. We think that is a really big deal. You BE you.

LENTEN PROJECT: Share a meal.

Each week I follow what is called the lectionary. I often read and reflect throughout the week on the gospel passage. This week we will begin the lenten season as we journey toward resurrection. This season is marked by repentance or change. Turning from death to life. Turning from the things that hold us back to the things that give us life.

The gospel passages during lent includes a myriad of figures: Nicodemus, Lazurus, Mary, Martha, Jesus’s disciples, and my favorite story of the Samaritan woman. Jesus didn’t silo himself nor surround himself with people that were like him.

Jesus put himself with people of radical difference, listened to their stories, felt their pain, listened to their questions, drank from their well, and ate at their tables.

What would it look like to follow in the footsteps of Jesus during this lenten season? What would it look like to entertain the idea of getting to know someone that isn’t in our inner circle. Maybe an acquaintance, a church friend (you sat near), someone of a different political ideology, different ethnicity… you get where I am going… someone different.

Then make the commitment to grab a beer, coffee, bite to eat, or invite them over to your family. And feast and experience communion and the beginning of new friendships.

And quite possibly what we would call communion.

Yes… you could just give up facebook… diet coke… or get a meal with someone new.

I know this pushes a lot of our uncomfortable buttons to get out of our comfort zone and get to know someone else. Because it is awkward. And we’d rather avoid that feeling. I did something similar with another church I served and I am pretty sure that no one did it. Because the idea of discomfort was too much.

There is a lot at stake in our culture. And we have to live differently. We live in a culture that is more connected yet lonelier.

There is a huge need for community and friendship. And our hope is that the church will step up… and be that new friend…

Let's be different. Let’s lean in. We would love for you too share your journey with us.

When will Storied Church worship every Sunday?

This is a great question with a not so simple answer. Our process in planting a church is very different from most traditional church plants. We didn’t have plans for a building (where will you be located?) or a worship service (what kind of music will your service have?). Our simple plan was to get to know the community first.

I, Jason, placed myself at any table that would let me be present. I invited many of you to coffee, lunch, dinner, beers because I felt that it was significant that I heard the heartbeat of the community. And I hope I listened well.

Here is what I have heard time and time again that people are looking for a community of people that isn’t prescribed and packaged. They simply want a community that will accept them for who God created them to be and give them the space to lean into that beautiful reality.

People also reflected to me that they wanted to be a part of a diverse community of faith that at its cored valued relationships.

When talking about the church most people reflected that they longed for a sense of belonging and hope in a community of faith. Rarely did the conversations go to worship style, big band worship, preaching and teaching.

We began to dream of how we might begin to bring this remnant of a community together. So we created the “Gathering” (I know it sounds cultish) this is kind of like worship and creating space to get to know one another once a month.

The simple purpose was to bring about a since of community.

These past few months have been about experimenting with this time every month.

Our NEXT step on this journey is struggling with the question how we intentionally deepen our relationships with one another. We are now dreaming of community groups that will meet a couple of times a month to begin deepening community with one another.

Our FOCUS in the next few months will be on implementing these local community groups (we will be talking about this more at our March Gathering) and experimenting.

We are tabling the question for right now, “Do we need to worship every Sunday?” It is one we want to come back to after we get our community groups moving.

For us it is all about being thoughtful and listening to one another.

This is so different from traditional church plants. And for some of us we like cookie cutter church that has a clear path. We just feel that if we do what other churches are doing for sake that is what many of us are use to… we will be forsaking our vision and values.

The answer will we worship every Sunday is delayed. It is a question we will struggle with later. But for now we are so excited to see roots begin to grow in this community.