Funny what happens when new relationships begin. We learn one another's languages, things we say, the way we say them, what's important to me, what's important to you.
The great thing about church is that no matter where we go--(and I'm speaking "idealistically" here)--we encounter others who share in a deep covenant that goes far beyond how well we know each other. When I came to Bering, even though we are still learning one another's languages, I rediscovered right away how well we "knew" each other, mainly because of the grace we have shared for centuries in Christ.
Hans-Georg Gadamer calls this a "fusion of horizons." One experience overlaps with another, and something emerges in the middle that could not have otherwise come about. When God shared his grace with us in Jesus we had to be there to accept it. And while we can be stubborn in our receiving at times, a fusing of horizons between God and humanity brings about something more than can ever be described. It is an unspeakable holiness, though grace ultimately speaks to the relationship at the center of the whole meaning of creation.
The same is true when two people (or even multiple groups) come together in the name of Jesus. We come together to live out something more than mere friendliness. We come together to share in a mission to proclaim a message of eternal redemption.
My new friend Edward Fudge and I have talked about this to some degree. And because we share in the blood of the lamb, my new friend is actually a dear old friend. Something about redemption bonds people immediately. Edward found this to be true last weekend in Arkansas. I wanted him at Bering on Sunday; God wanted him in Arkansas. And here is his story taken from his most recent Grace Email:
The deadness of Winter has given way to the greening of new life, and the fields and forests of Arkansas are now lavishly adorned in a living palette of jonquils, firepinks and wisteria, complemented by redbuds, dogwoods and flowering trees of all kinds. Contributing the audio to this visual splendor, a host of robins, bluebirds and martins cheerfully announce the arrival of Spring. Meanwhile, the Grand Artist is also moving among the community of rescued humans, in whose lives he is working a rebirth and transformation fully as awesome as his work in nature. Sara Faye and I were privileged to enjoy God's work in both arenas this past weekend, as we shared in the body-life of the nondenominational Covenant Fellowship in Searcy, Arkansas.
The common experience of God's salvation created and now defines this faith community called Covenant Fellowship, and that shared blessing echoes back in righteousness and praise. These people "greatly rejoice in the Lord," who "has clothed" them "with the garments of salvation" and has "covered" them "with the robe of righteousness" (Isa. 61:10-11). They know the difference between being "members of the body" (a New Testament metaphor) and "members of the church" (an institutional substitute for the real thing). Covenant Fellowship began about a dozen years ago when "the Lord anointed" several households from a large established church "to bring good news to the poor" and "to bind up the brokenhearted." They are still at it today -- "priests of the Lord" and "ministers of our God," serving the world in the name of the Savior (Isa. 61:1,6).
From the beginning, the group has chosen to gather in a rented community building, dedicating its financial resources to helping the poor and spreading God's good news. Their mission is clear: to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and to repair the devastations of many generations (Isa. 61:2, 4). They have an everlasting covenant with God (Isa. 61:8); when they come together, their intimacy with God in worship leads to intimacy in covenant fellowship with each other.
Our Sunday meeting began with my 50-minute teaching titled "Fire in the Fireplace," which discussed the identity, timing, necessity, privilege, gifts and stewardship of the Holy Spirit. (To hear "Fire in the Fireplace," click here.) We then were blessed with 60-90 minutes of uninhibited praise and sharing the Lord's Supper, testimonies of personal needs and God's present activity, as body-members rejoiced and wept together while supporting each other in outpourings of serious prayer. Indeed, it is Springtime in Searcy, and "as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God" is causing "righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations" (Isa. 61:11).
