a recent letter to my church

There can be something deep within the bent of a person's sin,


something that can cause him to stand at a distance,


or her to avoid the risk of change,


instead of stepping into their Sacred calling


to be a set-apart people of Jesus Christ


who help Him save the world.



Because that is God's plan.

Because that is God's style.



The first Christians were ordinary people


who let themselves become full of God


who helped them burst into their community


speaking absolute gibberish


that made absolute sense to those who heard it.



Because that is God's plan.

Because that is God's style.



These Christ-followers understood "setting themselves apart,"


and how lethal it can be to the couch potato life,


and to the way we planned on using our stuff,


(that really belongs to God anyway),


and how even though God doesn't need us


He chooses to need us.



Because that is God's plan.

Because that is God's style.



When Christ-followers of an era,


like them,


like us,


devote themselves to the right things...


and live in union with God,


each other,


and who they really are,


they become an imperfect, human version of the perfect, God Trinity.


they become... the Church.



Because that is God's plan.

Because that is God's style.



Whether or not you know God,


you and I live in this place,


in this time,


in this day and age,


to please the heart of the Lord,


and become fully-alive Christ-followers,


who reach out,


and redemptively love all people into a deeper Connection with God.


This is why we exist.


Because that is God's plan.

Because that is God's style.