Thursday, August 6, 2009

a new partner and some perspective on "the body"

Just finished up a great lunch with Pastor Tony Joyner of Family Worship Center in Red Lion, PA. Looks like another church who would like to partner with us in prayer and finances as we begin in Tulsa. I feel so thankful for this partnership. Tony has been a great friend for many years and I'm thrilled to work with him in a new way soon.

I was on my way home from this great meeting with Tony, but I stopped off for some WiFi so I could write this. It's just a realization that feels like it's going to pop out of me if I don't write about it and talk about it as much as I can. It's a new realization about how valuable the body of Christ, the church, is to each other in everyday life. Let me explain.

About 48 hours ago I was sitting in a disabled rental car on 5th and Cincinnati in downtown Tulsa, OK. It was about 103 degrees and the AC was scarcely keeping up during the almost two hours I waited for the Hertz tow truck. As I sat there in silence and my own sweat, everything felt surreal. At first I though it was just me feeling overwhelmed that I had just wrecked my rental car in the city I'm planning to move to and plant a church. That was probably part of it, but as I contemplated and prayed about my state of mind, it dawned on me . . . if this same thing had happened in the Gettysburg area, I could easily think of ten or twenty people I could call to come pick me up, Gerry would tow our car and I would be among friends. That's the body of Christ in action. As it were in Tulsa, I know hardly anyone. The one local I kind of know did ask if I needed anything. When I told him I may need a ride, he said that he thought the car rental company would take care of me. They did, but that's not the point. I didn't just need a ride, I needed a friend. I felt like I wanted to cry. I needed someone who would say, "Man, it's ok to cry". That's the body of Christ.

They guy I mentioned who lives in Tulsa . . . I don't blame him for saying what he said. He hardly knows me and I don't expect him to drop his whole day and take care of me. I was just using that exchange with him as an example to say that I don't know anyone in Tulsa yet, so it was not possible for the body of Christ to rally around me and support me in Tulsa. It was that lack that has opened my eyes to the incredible power and love there is when the church operates like it's supposed to.

I'm so eager to plant a church that creates this type of culture again and again for the people of Tulsa and beyond. I still feel really stupid about the accident in Tulsa, but I feel so thankful that God allowed me to see how valuable the church is, in a way that I've largely taken for granted up until now.

Jason Fitch - Lead Pastor

1 comment:

  1. I am always encouraged and blown by the way you deal with mistakes, and how you almost immediately focus on the lesson. You are awesome. =] And I totally understand what you are saying about the body of Christ. I feel like I have taken it for granted, but also been able to know what it's like to have that connection mean more than anything else. I'm so excited to hear more about what God does in Tulsa because of the devotion of you and your team. =]

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