Libby’s Lines

Well, we’ve made a decision. We have decided that the Nazarene church mentioned in my previous note will be our church home while living in Illinois. We haven’t felt the strong 110% positive answer from God about this one like the last two, but we certainly feel that warm welcome and a comfortable fit when there. The people are genuinely friendly, they are a caring church concerned about being a true light in the world for Christ and the pastor seems like a stong Christ-centered leader.

It’s nice to know that we will now be able to get to know people here, make friends and begin to get involved again. As much as we miss our friends in Indiana, we need to develop relationships here. I look forward to in-home fellowships, going out to dinner with other families, etc. again.

We had dinner today with a family there. The parents teach the Sunday School class that Tim and I attend. It’s funny isn’t how wherever you go, people remind you of someone you know from places you’ve come from? The husband reminds us of the husband/father of a family we have become very close with from Indiana. It’s a nice familiarity with some differences thrown in. The wife reminds us of the wife/mother of a different family we were friends with Indiana. We haven’t seen them too often for the past 2-3 years, after they decided to attend another church in Indiana. Turns out that they are from the north side of Indy with strong ties to people we know there. Small world, huh? Anyway, dinner was nice, they have 3 children with the 2 boys being close in ages to our 2 boys.

We then attended a superbowl party at the church this evening. Tim and I don’t even watch sports (as man of you know), however the opportunity for fellowship was something we didn’t want to pass up. I’m so glad we didn’t. There weren’t many there, but that may have been perfect because we were able to spend time with a few and really get to know them a bit better. I spent 1/2 hour or so with one wonderfully nice lady and we talked about anything and everything that one or the other of us thought of. It was almost as if we had already been at least acquaintances for a while, if not already friends.

A number of people that attend this church are from, have lived or have friends/family in the area of Indy. It’s at least a place for conversations to start. The boys have already fit in with their age groups, which is so good for us to see. We didn’t want this move to be any more difficult for them than necessary, so settling into a church where they could make friends has been a top priority.

Well, all of that said to say this. Thank you Lord for providing places of worship and fellowship with like-minded people striving to follow You. We are so blessed!

Blessings on all of you.

Closure is a good thing. Mostly.

It was good to be with our former church family the past couple of weeks. The purpose was church business meetings to “try and help the church move forward” after these difficult “few” months.

About the meetings… I don’t think that the leadership or the district leadership have grasped the concept of the real underlying problem. There were things said and done that irritated me, angered me, inspired me and made me gasp in disbelief. So, I believe that at this point, nothing will be “fixed” or reconciled and growth will still be stunted for that church. I am not saying that new people won’t come in, I’m saying that people, workers will continue to leave. That saddens my heart.

About the people… it was absolutely wonderful to have contact with them again and hear from most, that we are still loved, well thought of and missed. We’d been hearing just the opposite about a lot of people from there. I’m sure there are a select few that feel that way, but not the majority. It was good for me to hear that the majority understand the issues that have caused a “flock” of people to leave in recent (3) months and that they are “cheering us on” in our new adventures.

I miss these people. I miss those who don’t feel this way. I miss the comraderie that those in that church family exhibit. I pray for the leadership, all of them, and hope that they will truly allow Christ to lead and work among them. After all, that is “keeping the main thing the main thing.”

So, to that church family: I miss you greatly. I love you greatly. I look forward to seeing you someday soon in eternity.

To our new (and temporary) church family: I love you greatly (already). Thank you for accepting us so warmly and quickly. Your spirit has lifted mine. I will miss you when we move.

It has been a stressful few weeks. Issues at church, getting ready for school to start for the kids, car trouble, etc. However, I’d like to talk about church.

When things first got bad, I reacted very harshly. I regret it and deleted the blog entry and wrote an apology. However, I don’t want to recant so I deleted the apology. I am sorry for the way I reacted, however, the issues remain.

And there are issues, for more than just me and my family. There is an underlying problem that needs to be addressed openly, otherwise I don’t believe things can change for the church. And if things don’t change, I don’t see how the church can really grow and have a positive affect on the surrounding community. And isn’t this the goal? I believe so and I believe it truly is the goal of the church family and it’s leadership.

Being rebuked is not easy but Proverbs 9:8-9 says:

Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you,
Reprove a wise man and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser,
Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning.

This is why there is room for dissent in the church. If there weren’t, we wouldn’t have the church as we know it today. But, I do not have the finesse or skill to dissent in the way it should be done (I am too emotional), so I am praying for those who do. My prayer is not for anyone to be punished, just that things would be brought to light, confronted, lessons learned and growth started.