Out Of Context

After a week of stay-cation (and a great celebration of Thanksgiving, coming from my heart full of gratitude for ALL God has done in my life), I got to go to another church last weekend. Pastor Roy Conover was teaching at LifePoint Church, I was on vacation, so I went down the road to another church in the valley to see what was going on there. Saw some cool stuff, heard a message on praising and giving thanks to God, and went home encouraged. God is doing good work in churches in the Carson Valley.

Now, as I write this, I'm in a hotel room in Minneapolis, MN, waiting to meet with Pastor Leith Anderson of Wooddale Church. I'm here with some other leaders from Growing Healthy Churches, a network of folks committed to seeing the message of Jesus spread across our region, our nation and our world. There were seven of us at dinner tonight from very different churches in very different situations and cultures, including one from Napa, CA, and one from Charlotte, NC.

What I love about these types of experiences is how great it is to get out of my own context and see what God is up to in other places. I learn boatloads from pastors in different places, doing different types and styles of ministry. I learn from seeing the place where it happens and, whenever I can, experiencing worship with a church family that is not mine, just to see how they bring their worship to God. Those kinds of "out of context" experiences teach me lots of lessons: I get to see what is going right in other churches, and what answers other wise folks have gotten to the questions of how to love like Jesus in their community. I also get a fresh perspective on my own church family, what we're doing really right and what needs work. If I never go anywhere or experience another church doing the ministry God gave them to do, then I miss out on all that God can teach me in another context.

So if you're out of town on a weekend, let me encourage you to stop in an experience another church family. When we at LifePoint Church do our Thank You Weekend on December 25 and 26, take advantage of that Sunday to go explore what other churches are doing. Don't miss the chance to learn something new, or get a fresh perspective on what God is doing back home in your church. It won't matter if the experience is great or awful, exciting or boring; in the experience, God will have an opportunity to show you something. Take Him up on the offer!

I'll tell you what I learned from this trip later this week. (yep, I'm getting back in the blog habit...)