Last night there was a “birthday party” for Antioch Church — marking the “birth” or beginning of weekly meetings after a year of meetings, plans, and preparation.
When I came home I had trouble sleeping (thanks to a grande latte) and spent some time praying for Antioch and its future. I kept coming back to the following convictions:
#1. A church should be an authentic community — a safe place to live life, make friends and have your burdens lightened. Jesus himself said that we would find rest if we came to him and I find it hard to believe that he would want anything different for a community formed in his name.
So I prayed for Antioch, that we would be an authentic community that would lift people up rather than weigh them down.
#2. A church filled with faith in God should dream big dreams for God. It is so easy to drop our eyes and lose sight of the possibilities for making a difference in our community and in our world. If there is any group, however, that should believe great things are possible with God it is a church.
So again I prayed for Antioch, that we would dream big dreams for God and never lose our hunger to make a difference in the world.
