A Movement of People That Changes The World

When the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.  Ex. 14:31

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.  Acts 4:13 God does not call people to a religion but to a movement. When you look at scripture, you see a movement. You see the formation of a tribe, God is not merely drawing the people he created to himself, but to each other. One one of the central components of a tribe is the story of the tribe. As the people of God we enter into this grand story that began in a garden and ends in a city; the story of God and the people he calls to himself for the sake of the world. That both our historic and our living story.

People long for an amazing story. We live in a world where mythologies are created every day, and people pay $12 to sit for 90 minutes in someone else’s story, so for a moment, their life might become a part of a story bigger than themselves.

That’s exactly the type of story God invites us into, a story bigger than ourselves. And that is why the vision of Creekside and God’s call plan for his people from the beginning is to gather not those who could claim “of course he choose me,” but the unlikely, the folks who do not have things all figured out, Ordinary People Living the Extraordinary Way of Jesus. At Creekside we want to be a people who welcome, to be a place of belonging, a lead people on a journey into the extraordinary way of Jesus. We desperately want people to experience that kind of life; it is a life that people notice.

This Jesus way of life is marked by kindness, generosity, love, service — a life of contentment that is not explainable by any other reason than by the fact that we have been with Jesus. This Extraordinary Way of Jesus is visible, irresistibly drawing those who do not know Jesus. This Extraordinary Way is tangible, bringing goodness and restoration to the broken spaces in the world. This Extraordinary Way is personal, birthed and nourished only by being with Jesus, alone and together in community. It is honed and lived out in a rhythm of discipleship, inward toward Christ, outward toward the world, and together in authentic community living in the story of God.

As we move into the fall, it is a natural regathering. It is a time of recommitment and decision. How does the notion of Ordinary People Living The Extraordinary Way of Jesus hit you? Have you wrestled with it? Have you allowed it to challenge you? Have you asked how Jesus’ extraordinary way might live itself out in your real life. These are the important questions. Each of us must engage with them alone and community and then move with intentionality pursuing those areas. Creekside provides many opportunities, but it is your responsibility to move into them, to own (with God) your spiritual development. And then to be amazed as you experience what Jesus calls more and better life, a life beyond your imagination, a life that draws people to you, to Creekside and to Jesus.

Peace, hope and love

Doug