The Rhythms of Ecclesia

In Houston this past week, I wanted to attend a Rockets game.  But they were out of town.  So I looked around at what else was happening nearby.  The Ragamuffin movie about Rich Mullins was showing at a warehouse church less than a mile from the office, so I decided to walk over and take it in a second time.  The church itself had some interesting artwork, and the design of the church was contemporary -- a loft approach in an old warehouse.

The name of the church was "Ecclesia Church."  According to the church's website, the term ecclesia means "called out." 

On the way out the door, I picked up a card entitled The Rhythms of Ecclesia, which contained the following six values:

• Be Real

Acknowledge my weakness and confess my sin to those that love me
 

• Be Kind

Choose to bless those around me

• Seek Beauty

Take time to consistently reflect on the beauty in the world around me

• Seek God

Read the scriptures and meditate on them daily

• Be Hospitable

As people of the table, share meals often with those inside and outside of my community

• Serve Others

Avoid the pitfalls of selfishness, and be open to the freedom of loving others through sharing time, 
energy and resources

These are really good rhythms, especially for a 50-year old man with a broken marriage and an emptying nest.  On many of these fronts, the last two years have been so kind and good to me -- from

• establishing the relationship with Bobby and Curt and Chuck and CAM and Carlos and Curt, to
• enjoying the bonds of the annual golf trip with Jeff and Bob and Antonio and Sam and Greg and Jeff and Jeff and Dean and more, to
• lunch with Mike and Bob, to 
• the friendship forged with Daryl, to 
• the friendships with the Bradley dads and the families of children I coached, to
• the Board membership friendships that keep expanding, to
• David's Fab 4, to 
• Oktoberfest, to
• my godfather role with Hank, to 
• my work friendships with Brian and Sam and Loren and Tammy and Ann and Darrin and Harley and Steve and Missy and Elio and Dana and Keri and so very many more, and
• the list goes on an on.

I don't know where this goes from here.  I don't even know if I will walk out of my bloodwork on Friday and know whether my psa is still inflated too highly.  I don't know if I will be around tonight or tomorrow or 40 years from now.  I don't know if my God will fuse this marriage back together or not.  I don't know much of anything really.

But I have faith that the New Jerusalem is real, that heaven is as close as my nose (only in a different dimension), that the Creator God loves me and rejoices over me with singing, and that He is preparing both a place for me and the way for me to get there.  I believe that He will make all things new, restoring all of what has been broken here -- and all in a way that will be so incredibly better than anything I can think or imagine.

And so these rhythms of ecclesia resonate with me.  In light of the adventure I'm on -- the one He's directing for me -- I embrace these rhythms.  I want to be more free to be real and kind, to know and appreciate beauty in the world, to seek God as the deer pants for the water, to be hospitable to more and more people (unafraid of my insecurities that they might not like me!), and to serve others as my Lord Jesus Christ served all.