Recharge:Reconnect - Community [Part 1]

This past weekend on retreat was an incredible weekend.

I think one of the best ways I could sum it up would be the time when I was on my way out of Fair Havens, there was a sign at the end of the road just before we exited that said, "We beheld His Glory."

I think that's probably one of the coolest things. Let me expand on that a little bit.

Back in Biblical times, there used to be a rabbinical saying that when two or three gathered together the Shekinah (Glory of God) would be in their midst...think about it, because when Jesus came and said "when two or three gather together in my Name, then there I am with them"...Jesus was referring to Himself as the glory of God. But here's the interesting part...it was when two or three people...a community gathred in His name, that the Shekinah Glory, Jesus Himself, appeared...and that's exactly what I felt leaving this retreat...

We beheld His Glory...in the community.

This weekend I have been blessed so much, and I could not have envisioned this retreat to turn out the way it did. God is amazing and He works in amazing ways.

I have so many stories to tell, and if I were to type them all out right now, I'd get massive cramps in my hands from all the typing. So this is what I'm gonna do...for the next week or so, I'll try to post up one story each day along with whatever pictures I can find.

So here's the story for today:

For the first time, in what history I know of for CCF, we had a joint retreat where we had members of VCF come and attend our retreat as guests. This step on its own is so cool, because though only 7 or so of them came, this was what I felt as the first steps, the first waves of a deeper sense of unity developing among fellowships. It was awesome to serve them this weekend.

After we had arrived and settled in on Saturday, I gave a talk that afternoon about community. We walked through the Bible, from Genesis to the book of Acts, about at the central of God's essence and His plan has been community. God gave all of Himself to establish community here on earth, so why shouldn't we?

Towards the end of my talk, I quoted a professor by the name of Dr. Belzekien (who I essentially got this talk from) which said, "Church is either community or no church at all." That is so true when you consider the story God writes through the Bible and through human history.

And with a pause, I looked at this amazing group before me and I told them, "CCF is either community or not CCF at all. Community is not an option." It's part of God's plan and intention...and it's been absolutely incredible how God has grown UTCCF to become such a Christ-centred community through this year.

During one of my small groups, later on in the retreat, one of the girls from VCF shared something with us from her heart. She told us of how she had been in many retreats throughout her life...and they were all kind of the same thing, so she had an expectation that this retreat would be more or less similar to what happened in those. But that wasn't the case, there was something different. What she experienced at the retreat this year was really different from what she expected, in a good way.

She said that in previous retreats, it was about individuals helping individuals with their individual walk with God. But at this retreat, it wasn't about seeking God with a community, but seeking God as a community. There was a oneness in our community, that it wasn't about...let's gather together to talk about how to seek God, then we all go our own ways and try to seek Him. But rather, we gathered together, and as one, sought the Lord together.

That in itself was really encouraging...but what she said next, totally blew me away...

She then said, "For the rest of the year, I want to come to your Friday night programs so that I can learn from you guys how to do community."

At that point I was so humbled. I almost couldn't believe what she was saying. I was really moved by what she said...because it's so rare to have someone from another ministry come to yours and say that they want to learn. I'm so humbled by their humility. I admire that so much. This really is God's work and not mine.

In addition to that, there was another new comer to CCF who attends the church of a pastor friend of mine, who came up to me on the final day and said, "I really love what's going on here. Do you think I could come to your meetings so that I could see what it's like?" I'm so humbled at what God is doing at CCF. Because I know, it is He is increasing and I am decreasing...the way it's suppose to be.

God is up to something big...and I believe, this year is only just part of the beginning.

Stay tuned...