Beyond

i got to know an interesting Christian through my work recently. When we chatted about our faith, he told me that he is a Christian too, but the group he belongs to sees church beyond the physical location and the religious  "duties"; instead they are committed to living out the greatest commandment of loving God and men. They may meet any time in the week to serve the needy. i think there are slightly more than 10 members in this group, which includes my friend and his wife.

Initially, we left the conversation at that, meaning, i thought i had a good enough understanding of his group. But recently, he sent me links to their website as well as their recent involvement in World Refugee Day. Some of the articles are compelling reads, eg they presented their case for a church beyond Sundays and their stand on multiplication:

"it’s better to be multiplied into a thousand independent groups of 10 believers, than to be gathered in a  collective mass of 10,000.  The small groups are more connected together in fellowship and love. They are also more mobile to visit the widows and orphans and to build a friendship with the needy (which is what Jesus will do rather than be confined to a religious routine.)"

The beliefs of this group of Christians go to show that there are just so many ways to live out of our Christian faith. To compare them to mainstream practices or even to compare at all isn't helpful. For years, growing up in my current church, we have been taught to see how different we are from others. Our identity as Christians has been so tied to the church that some who don't see themselves first and foremost as a member of MCOC don't feel belong. We are not the only guilty ones of course. Almost anywhere you will hear Christians saying first which church they attend when they speak to each other, as if to differentiate, as if to place each other at some point for reference for future conversations. Indeed, my Catholic friends think of themselves as Catholic first, Christians second. So it's also the case with my friend mentioned above. When we found out we have a common faith, the next question was which church do you attend - only that he doesn't attend a church :) But i consider him a brother-in-Christ!

Mark Love, our guest speaker at the recent church camp spoke about the pictures of God's Future. One of the pictures is that nations will stream to God's holy mountain to learn only from Him. i believe that too. i believe on that day in the future where Christians of all colours and sizes and background and church affiliations meet, my new brother-in-Christ and i will be there too :)