May the mumbling commence!
There’s nothing like going home again. Home, that’s a funny concept, isn’t it? I live in Hutchinson, Kansas. I call Hutch home. But, when Christmas time rolls around, my family and I often pack up to travel the long road to Wadsworth, Ohio. I call it going home for Christmas. And I also call it going home when we return to Hutch.
In their own ways, both Hutch and Wadsworth seem like home to me. And there have been other homes to me. Home is where is the heart is – where you invest yourself. I have called home Americus, Georgia and Elkhart, Indiana. I have spent significant parts of my life in each of these cities. I carry a part of each city and its people with me. Who knows – some of the people in these cities carry a part of me with them?
Home, for me, is also anyplace where I feel the call to serve the Lord. Yes, home church is a difficult concept for me. There have been a few along the way. It all started with Bethel Mennonite Church of Wadsworth, Ohio. It was there I came to faith and received the call to pastoral ministry.
Then, there were a group of churches that I became a part of during my seminary years in Elkhart – Prairie Street Mennonite, Hively Avenue Mennonite, Sunnyside Mennonite, and Faith Mennonite (Goshen, IN). When my family and I visit the Elkhart area, we have a predicament in deciding where to worship on Sunday morning. Thankfully, Faith is an evening congregation; so we can possibly squeeze in two services!
I also have fond memories of Americus (GA) Mennonite Fellowship, where my wife and I served God for the first time in an official role. It is this home church where we welcomed our son Micah into the world. I also have fond memories of the people who make up the intentional living community in Koinonia Farms south of Americus.
When that time of service came to an end, we traveled to Kansas. We spent nearly a year as a part of Hesston Mennonite Church. Then, God tapped my shoulder again to serve.
Now, my family and I are at Community Church of the Brethren (Hutch, KS). It’s been two years now. It’s hard to comprehend how much time has passed. I am home. Here is where I invest myself. Here is where the Lord has called me and my family to serve. We embrace our call and love our home church. Indeed, we love all our home churches! I confidently claim that the Spirit of God is at work in all these congregations – and many more besides.
God’s Spirit runs like a thread through all Christian communities. It is there to see – if you only would take time to look. That thread is miraculous. God has weaved that thread since the beginning of time. It connects us through space and time. We are part of a much larger family and a much larger story. Nehemiah and the people who followed him invested themselves in Jerusalem and the Lord. The newly rebuilt wall was a powerful symbol of that investment. Read a passage from Nehemiah chapter twelve:
I had the leaders of Judah go up on top of the wall. I also assigned two large choirs to give thanks. One was to proceed on top of the wall to the right, toward the Dung Gate. Hoshaiah and half the leaders of Judah followed them, along with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, as well as some priests with trumpets, and also Zechariah son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph, and his associates – Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah and Hanani – with musical instruments prescribed by David the man of God. Ezra the scribe led the procession. At the Fountain Gate they continued directly up the steps of the City of David on the ascent to the wall and passed above the house of David to the Water Gate on the east. (Verses 31-37)
I have experienced many good leaders in the church – Marlo, Paul, Ed, Jud, and Terri; John, Walt, and Cheryl; Don, Sheila, Merle, Myron, and Lewis… the list could go on and on. And I know I will forget some, so I will stop. It is this beautiful concert that we join. I have also known some priests with trumpets – Derek and Seth.
All of these people serving the son of David, the man of God. David was after God’s heart. Jesus Christ, through obedience, caught the heart of God. Let’s give thanks in song and story. Let’s worship the only One who is worthy. Home is where the heart is, and we are restless until we find our home in Jesus.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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