A Story of One Network.
I think that everyone in ministry remembers when they hit that time during their first month of ministry at a new church or in a new town, when everything just seems awkward, hard, and just little more stressful than you expected. I remember when that time came for me at my current church. Luckily, close to the day that all of that hit me, my boss at that time looked at me and said, “hey lets go, we are going to a network meeting.”
Now, I had been to a view “network meetings” in my time of ministry, and to say the least, I wasn’t very excited. I just expected it to be a bunch of people sitting around talking about how amazing their star kid was, or how God was really blessing their church. So as we got into the car on the way to a local church, I started to think about how these people might look, what crazy Jesus stories they might tell, or what super spiritual prayer I might hear.
As we got to the church and walked into the room I noticed something, no one looked how I expected them to, but I wasn’t convinced I was wrong. I had seen to many of these "network meetings" go terribly wrong.
As my boss started introducing me to everyone in the room, we sat down, and I was asked to share a little about myself. I naturally went into my surface level story of how when to Azusa Pacific, then to Fuller Theological Seminary, that I had done ministry in Utah with LDS member, lead missions trips, Youth Ministry inthe Pasadena area, all before ending up in Irvine. With every sentence I was writing my resume for them in words, hoping to impress them I guess?
After me, other people started by introducing themselves, sharing what was going on in their ministries, lives, and hearts. To be honest, I was really caught off guard. These people who I assumed would be fake, were real. I don’t mean the cheese Christian “real” where that one emotional guy fights through a tear; I mean the type of real that comes with time, energy, and friendship.
When everyone was done sharing they came back to me. "So," one of the youth pastors asked, “How are you doing?” Against every assumption, I followed suit, I honestly told them how I was doing, and it was refreshing.
At the end of the meeting the group of pastors, youth leaders, and para-church ministers sat and prayed for each other for a while, lifting up every prayer request and unspoken concern. Then when it was all done, we all then shook each other’s hands, some gave hugs, and my boss and I left.
A Vision.
When I was in college I was a part of a missions organization that looked to network people of all denominates and churches in Salt Lake City, UT. I loved working with that organization because of their vision, "Standing Together seeks to be a catalyst for uniting the Utah Christian community through relational efforts of prayer, worship, and strategic evangelism.”
In all my time doing ministry in Southern California, in college, and in Seminary, I never really found people who were willing to work towards a vision like Standing Together had. It seemed to me that everyone was in it for their own church, ministries, or self. I admit that after a while I gave up trying to look, until that day I was taken to a network meeting in Irvine.
In a way that meeting re-sparked a new desire in my heart for all denominations, para-church organizations, and churches to work together to accomplish God’s work in the world. To see a community of churches, not just a church, represent what Paul talks about in Romans. 12:3-8
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Conclusion.
It has now been a year and a half since my first network meeting in Irvine, and I honestly don’t know where I would be without my brothers and sisters in ministry. They help me become a better person, they pray for me, and we do ministry together in some really intentional ways.
So with that, I encourage you that if you have a vision to see the church work together in such a way, not loss hope, but be a catalyst for change. If you want a community of people that is like the one I have in Irvine, start one. If you are a part of a “network” that you feel is not fruitful, then work to change it.
Next week, I will dive into some practical ways you might be able to help things change, but until then, do not loss hope, for it is possible.
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