Greetings,
We just arrived back in the USA from our trip to Mexico. We had a great trip but we missed everyone back home. In five days we covered over 3000 sq ft of wall in stucco and over 500 sq ft in tile. The team did amazing!
We saw the deepest levels of poverty as people live right next to the landfill trying to scavenge for food and relying on the generosity of others to bring in water. The great majority of people in Rosarito live day to day trying to make their way with little work and little money. Food and gas costs are the same as in the USA, but a day's wage is about $20. The need for people to have meaningful relationships is necessary for survival. We had a great feast of carne asada and homemade tortillas and Irma, who made the meal, took a large amount of food around to neighbors.
I always love seeing how relationships work in other cultures and comparing it to how we are in the northwest. We are often so independent and self sufficient. I think the Lord is teaching us that relying on each other more is not a burden but a blessing. It is a blessing to serve and to be served. Pride and self sufficiency undermines the blessings of both serving and being served.
In John chapter 13, Jesus was preparing to serve his disciples by washing their feet. Peter’s initial reaction was to declare that he did not need the Lord to serve him. Once he realized the blessing he was going to receive in being served by the Lord, he wanted more.
When we realize the blessing of being served and reciprocating by serving, we will crave more intimacy and inter-dependency. God designed us to operate in community with one another, and we can bring great glory to Him as we serve each other!
Love ya,
Chris
Greetings,
We have always been a church that allows Jesus to do the building. As a fellowship we pray and listen to the Holy Spirit and we try faithfully to do the next right thing, even when it is uncomfortable. We have taken steps of faith and we have been blessed, both by the faithfulness of God and his people. Each step has brought about new challenges and we believe that we have been faithful in handling those challenges with prayer and humility. Our commitment to be the body and bride of Christ is more about the ministry and message of Jesus rather than building our own buildings and comfort. We believe if God wants us to have a building or comfort that He will provide it and it will be obvious that it is His will.
We are a young fellowship celebrating our 5th birthday in August and we are still working through the challenges that come from being a young fellowship. One of those challenges is how to disciple each follower of Christ well and how to do so in a way that doesn’t just educate but also motivates the follower of Jesus to live out their individual calling from the Lord. This kind of discipleship is a long walk down a narrow road. It is intimate and growth often happens slowly. I am a person that loves to see results and this kind of discipleship is right, but difficult for a results-oriented person. I can grow impatient as the Lord keeps pulling back on the reigns and reminding me that He is the one building this and not me. There are growing pains that every fellowship endures but a fellowship that doesn’t “do ministry” the same way that other churches do ministry is tough, especially if that is the kind of ministry we have been accustomed to.
Jesus’ style of disciple making was daily, being, going, sending and moving people about life, often in uncomfortable ways, and doing everyday life with extraordinary faith and faithfulness. Jesus called each one of us to follow his lead in being faithful and He will do the extraordinary things through us by the Holy Spirit when we are willing and submit to Him.
I love how the New Living Translation handles Proverbs 3:5-6. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take."
As a individual and as a fellowship it is temping to lean on the wisdom of the world and depend our own understanding. The Lord has great paths for Way of Life and I am excited to walk down them with you!
Please pray this prayer with me for yourself and our fellowship.
Lord, I acknowledge you as the one that has and will continue to make the path straight and make the way clear. Father, I trust in you today with all of my heart and I will not trust in my own understanding. In humility, I ask that you would help Way of Life Fellowship to make disciples of all people, teaching them to obey your word and follow the path that you have set before them in love and peace. Help me to do the next right thing in the journey that you have laid out before me. I desire to be a faithful follower of you. In the precious and sacred name of Jesus I pray, Amen!
Love ya,
Chris
Greetings,
We have a great opportunity this Sunday (July 15) to celebrate Jesus together at a fun, family friendly carnival. I really hope that you will make it a point to invite some people and attend! This "Country Fair" will start at our normal time, 10:30am, and a brief service will be followed immediately by a potluck lunch and then tons of fun carnival games for the young and young at heart.
I am asked regularly how the church is going and I answer the same way every time. I say that I have never been a part of something that is so unifying and blessed. It is unheard of for two like minded organizations to come together with the amount of unity and humility that our church has experienced. I am excited to see where we are going as Jesus builds his church in South Salem.
When I read in the book of Acts and I see the joy, unity and love that was present at the foundation of the church, I crave that same kind of connection. I have experienced a similar connection with many of you and I know that there is a desire to experience that present inside all of us who love Jesus and His bride, the church.
Although we are talking a lot about living life together in unity, it is a difficult thing to realize. It is not something that any program or prodding can manifest. Unity in love and a brotherhood kind of fellowship is something that requires personal sacrifice, time, energy and shared experiences. As a church we can put on activities and events to try and foster connection, but in actuality the effort of living life together is in all of our hands. Being mindful of reaching out to people during the middle of the week is important for you and me. Few things in this world satisfy me more than seeing God’s people loving each other. When I hear that people are getting together and making efforts to know each other, my heart fills with joy.
The Bible says that everyone will know that we are Jesus’ disciples by our love for each other. That's not just some pie in the sky kind of jibber jabber. That is the expectation. That is the mandate. That is who we are to be and I know that many of us have great motives and intentions. But like all of you, our individual lives get in the way and excuses pour into our minds.... "But I am introverted... busy... messy... poor... weird... lazy... a sinner…" Great!!! So are all of us! There are always going to be reasons to isolate--that is what Satan wants the church to do. Satan knows the power that is present in the unified church and he shakes in fear of it. My desire is that Way of Life Fellowship would be known as the "lovingest" church around (I know it's not a word).
Let's be as much like Jesus as we can be. It is a great blessing to do life together with you all. I am excited about growing closer together with you in the years ahead!
Love ya,
Chris