Since moving to Colorado people ask me on a regular basis if I miss home. I'd be a liar if I said I didn't miss home in some way, shape, or form. There are definitely parts that I think of daily that I miss. I recall one of the conversations that I had with my mom on the drive out here about home and how it really isn't home anymore. In some senses you could say that Wheaton hasn't been my home for the past four years. From September to May I would call Upland, IN home and from June to August I would call Lansing, IA home and occasionally I would call Wheaton home if I was going home for Christmas or Easter. There was a short period between transitions from Lansing to Upland or Lansing to Lafayette where I would have called myself homeless. My belongings were all in boxes and bins and while I had a roof over my head and a bed to sleep in home was just not home anymore. How can you call the place where you live out of a suitcase on visits home? This house that I grew up in now was just a house where my parents live. Even though this is a rather sad realization to make, that none of these places are considered home anymore, each of them helped me shape my worldview and gave me community.
Which brings us to where I am now. A month ago when I moved to Colorado to start my 11 month long internship at Flatirons Community Church I came in with my own, rather skeptical, view of mega churches. After visiting Willow Creek in Barrington, IL this past January my view was slightly better but still skeptical. My skepticism primarily came from the idea that I didn't see true community happening in a mega church. But this past week my skepticism was proved wrong.
In the course of 24 hours two events happened that have altered my thoughts of community in the mega church. First one happened last night at the intern guys' apartment. Last night we all got together for brinner (breakfast for dinner). We had a blast in the kitchen cooking the pancakes, eggs, bacon, and cinnamon rolls. After we finished eating we sat on the floor of the family room and started talking about why we chose to do the internship and what some of our struggles have been since starting and how we have already seen God do a number on our lives. If you had told me a month ago that I would be willing to share some of my deepest struggles with my fellow interns I would have probably told you that you're nuts. It's only my closest friends that I have known for years that I share those things with. But that's exactly what happened. I shared some stuff that I'm struggling with to my fellow interns. I was willing to be vulnerable with a group of people I met for the first time a month ago and it feels like we've been friends for years.
The second event that happened was just this morning at staff devos. Each Tuesday morning at 9 AM we all gather to share stories and updates from the past week, then a devo is given by one staff person, then we sing some worship songs, then we share prayer requests and then close in prayer. This morning started off like any other staff devo until we hit the prayer requests portion. One person shared a trial going on in their family and it was a like a spring board. After that person there was another and another and another that shared tough things happening in their families and households. I just sat there taking in all that I was witnessing happening before me. It was incredible. It was so cool to see community happening before my very own eyes. In that moment I realized that I thought, "Wow, I have a really awesome church family." That is when I took a double take. Wait, did I just call Flatirons, a church of 20,000 my church family? Yes, I did. It was really strange moment for me. Because for the past 16 years of my life I have called Glen Ellyn Bible Church my church family. Now, GEBCers, don't get me wrong, you are still my family. In fact, it is because of you that I am where I am today. Because you were such an awesome church family for 16 years it made any church I attended during college hard to call my church family which is probably why that never happened. So thank you. With that being said, today I am feeling incredibly blessed to work at a place that is in fact messy and that we embrace that messiness and live life alongside one another. I'm thankful for this community that is vulnerable with one another and allows others to be a part of some of the hardest parts of their lives. Thank you Flatirons for being a place that is broken and messy but filled with grace and compassion and a "me too" environment.
Finally, I want to leave you all with a passage from Acts 2:42-47, which is all about a community of believers who come together in community and fellowship. "They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
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