They’ll Know We are Christians…

Many times I am asked about where I’m from. Seeking a person’s origins is just a simple way of seeking connection. Learning about one another is a natural human instinct. Sometimes knowing something about where a person is from can tell you a bit about their personality. Did they grow up in a large city or did they grow up on a farm? Are they from the south where people tend to talk a little slower and accents drawl or from the north where language patterns are fast and clipped? My answer to the questions of origin are always convoluted. I am from everywhere…but mostly from the south.

I grew up moving, on average, every six months. Most of our moves were across multiple states. We always seemed to come back to central Kentucky between cross-country treks, so central Kentucky has always felt like home to me. I’ve never been happier than when I’m here. With all our long moves my heart would always beat excitedly when the tires hit Bluegrass Parkway. That road always had a familiar thump-thump in the pavement that I equated with coming home.

I’ve lived in big cities and small towns. I’ve lived on country farms and in apartment complexes. I’ve lived in the quiet suburbs. I’ve lived in cramped row-homes. I can almost say that I’ve been everywhere. One thing has held true about all these places…everywhere I’ve ever lived I have encountered people who were eager to share with me the love of God. Most of those individuals came in the form of Bible-toting evangelists who were dedicated to knocking on doors. Sometimes I visited these churches, sometimes I did not. My family never went. Most of the congregations I visited were either a form of Baptist, Pentecostal, Mormon or Jehovah’s Witness. These were the denominations most passionate about sharing their faith. Never once, in all my travels, did I ever encounter someone from the Christian Church(Disciples of Christ).

The Christian Church(Disciples of Christ) denomination is one of the best kept secrets of our time! It was not until someone invited my husband, Bob, to be a part of a church softball team that I encountered our denomination. It wasn’t the love of God through Jesus Christ that prompted someone to invite us to church, it was the love of a game and this person’s desire to spend time with us. I suppose we can say the method of draw doesn’t really matter, because God found a way to pull my family into a community of faith.

As a pastor, it is always my hope that our members will love God so strongly they cannot help but share that love with everyone they encounter. Perhaps the people who invited us to church, and invited Bob to play on that softball team, did have such strong devotion. Maybe they just didn’t know how to share that, so they went with the next best thing…they issued an invitation for us to become a part of their community…and the community showed us the love of God in their actions.

It really is as simple as that, folks! Sharing God’s love is not only accomplished in words, it comes through in our deeds, as well. Perhaps it comes through loudest in our deeds. There are many ways our community of faith shows the love of God through Jesus Christ to others in our words and deeds. The more bodies and voices we gather who share in this way, the louder our call to the world becomes.

It is so good to serve and love with you!
Blessings,
Tracy