Gathering Places

Jesus said "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” (Matt 18:20) Thus we can surmise that when we gather together we are always sitting down with Jesus in our midst. I am thinking of several of those gathering places as I write.

Monthly area pastors have been invited by the mayor of Flint, Dayne Walling, to pray with him in his city hall chambers. I suspect the young mayor is desperate enough to tap every group and power available to try to move the city forward. Whether the mayor or others understand, Jesus is in this gathering too. Frankly, I wish I too would be filled with an ever deep sense of His presence in our gatherings. How would that change the ways we address each other? How would we spend our time differently if we could see the Lord gathering with us? Or how would our prayers change if we truly understood how close the Lord was in the time?

I like thinking of taking Jesus with me in my daily encounters. I can envision him at the Elbowroom Coffee shop each Monday where I meet with Pat and Jim, my accountability partners. We are each serious about the ministries Jesus has called us to. I think I need to pull up the "empty chair" more often to remind us of the Lord's presence and keep us thinking about others we should invite to our gatherings.

I can even see Him in the midst of our trustee meeting held at the Westside Diner. I love having church business meetings with our trustees in a "greasy spoon". It is great being interrupted by one of our regular waitresses who have even shared prayer needs with us. I actually think this is a business meeting the Lord likes to attend.

The church is always gathering is it not? Many limit their thinking and practice to only meeting on Sunday morning. The reality is that the people of God who are passionate about serving the Lord are gathering much more than 2 hours on a Sunday.

Just the other night three of us from New Wine met with the leadership team of a new Lutheran Church in Clarkston, Michigan (about an hours drive from where we live). They call themselves "The Gathering Place".   http://www.thinkoutsidethepew.org  What a joy it was to share with the group. They just kicked-off this new work in February. They are doing many of the things we have been living out the past seven years. They have rented some space below a Liquor Store and Tanning Salon. Part of their gathering space, just as you walk in, is a living room area. This greeting space is warm and welcoming and fits with their vision banner "we do church in your living room". Another space is dedicated to a play space for kids while the remaining space is partitioned off for small group study and seminar space for programs like Financial Peace and Griefshare. It was a great joy to encourage them as they start this new work. It was a joy to recount how Christ has grown us and met with us as we have gathered through these early years of church life.

May we ever grow in our sense that when we gather, Christ is in our midst.