New Priorities

I remember reading something a few months ago where one man said that when they stopped "going to church" and started meeting as the church in their home, it took them almost a year before they could move beyond just forming the relationship with one another and finding Jesus in a new way.

I remember thinking, "that sounds odd," what did they need to let go of?

I am beginning to start to understand it. It's a shift of priorities from working for God to the relationships of enjoying Jesus and his continual presence in our lives.

My recognition of this has come as a slow unveiling. Little by little, Jesus is showing me where we have been so focused on getting the "work done," that he miss him. We rush to our business in team meetings, we close in prayer with a short thought because we are out of time, we don't hear how one another is doing before we start the business so we walk away feeling more alone and isolated then ever.

Last night I met with a group of people. We ate dinner together. We centered our conversation on God and how he is working in our lives. It was natural and it fed us beyond the food on the plate. We went to prayer naturally several times instead of taking prayer requests. At the end we began to pray spontaneously for the needs that we had heard through the course of our time at "the Table."

I walked away filled. Spiritual formation took place as we listened to one another and to God at the same time. We dreamed about the ways that God is opening up for us to serve the world.

Knowing God. Loving One Another. Being the Church present to the World.
Jesus' Priorities for his followers.