Plant Church
Celibacy, celebrity, cake, cuddle… many have mused on the possibilities for the first C in our church name. The significance of the true meaning however stands at the heart of our purpose – Community Church Harlesden. I’m not sure how many people I talk to about joining a church plant really understand the idea. I know my mum struggles with it… she kept calling a plant church for ages (conjures up images of us meeting in a greenhouse amongst the potting compost), and I find it quite hard to explain really what it looks like as so much of that is just daily life. Nothing too grand - just a bunch of friends who try to bring a daily offering of sacrificial living; loving each other and sharing life together, loving our town and attempting to share life with the people who live around us.
I love being part of this church. It was hard when I first moved in – having spent nearly a year living either with my parents or totally on my own, it was a shock to the system to have to consider others and adapt routines to accommodate housemates. There are also other sacrifices – missing big worship sessions with loud drums and guitars (especially after Newsong!) was one I felt in particular, just because of my love of worshipping with music. And however romantic and idealistic it sounded in discussions, actually living with people with the intention of “doing life” is so difficult. A continual dying to self, is required as well as a servant heart, and there’s nothing like living with a bunch of people to show you the parts of your life and attitudes that are not so great! I arrived thinking that it would be easy and fun, mainly because I knew most of the people beforehand, but community living takes friendships to a whole new level!! Still, I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. I believe it expresses so much of what Jesus calls us to in our walk with Him. I am challenged every day of the week, not just when I make the effort to go meetings. And if I felt like it, I could go to meetings in my pajamas. Beautiful.
I love being part of this church. It was hard when I first moved in – having spent nearly a year living either with my parents or totally on my own, it was a shock to the system to have to consider others and adapt routines to accommodate housemates. There are also other sacrifices – missing big worship sessions with loud drums and guitars (especially after Newsong!) was one I felt in particular, just because of my love of worshipping with music. And however romantic and idealistic it sounded in discussions, actually living with people with the intention of “doing life” is so difficult. A continual dying to self, is required as well as a servant heart, and there’s nothing like living with a bunch of people to show you the parts of your life and attitudes that are not so great! I arrived thinking that it would be easy and fun, mainly because I knew most of the people beforehand, but community living takes friendships to a whole new level!! Still, I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. I believe it expresses so much of what Jesus calls us to in our walk with Him. I am challenged every day of the week, not just when I make the effort to go meetings. And if I felt like it, I could go to meetings in my pajamas. Beautiful.
posted by Susie at
12:36 AM
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