Changing Course

A little over 10 years ago, I came to spend a summer in Maryland to help out a new church, well as most of you know that lead to me moving to Maryland almost 9.5 years ago to be a part of that church. My faith journey since then has been about being part of church plants in Maryland. Its been a great time of learning more about God, myself, people, and all the relationships that connect them. There have been joys greater than I could have imagined as well as defining struggles and sorrows. Its definitely been a wild ride and one that has left me with friends who will forever be part of my journey.

No, I'm not leaving Maryland, considered that a few years ago, but I'm confident that this is where I still need to be. So the change in course... seeking a new church. This is somewhat uncharted territory for me, sure I hunted for a church when I went to college, but I remained connected to and loved by the church I grew up in. So for the first time in my life I find myself without a church. So, yes a scary and exciting time ahead as I seek the people with whom God is calling me to build community, serve along side, and grow closer to Him.

This is also a sad time, tonight marked the last gathering of the last remaining house church from the network of house churches some dear friends and I started a little over 6 years ago. It was totally God though, all of the remaining 5 of us have been sensing for a variety of reasons that we were no longer really being church and that we should pursue other church communities. So, a night that had you asked me how it would of go, I would have thought of many tears and complete sadness. Though it was a somber discussion and departure, there was also a sense of peace and unity, a much needed confirmation from God that it was time to end.

We still have a few discussions to have with those who have supported over the years as well as among ourselves concerning the logistics to "officially disband," so those will happen over the coming weeks.

For now I'm thankful for the opportunity to have been part of a simple authentic church for this long and for the courage, honesty, and faithfulness of this group of friends to realize we were no longer being church, so the time has come to move on to the next phase of our faith journeys.