Wayfaring Stranger

A Spirit of Diversity

This weekend we had Brother J.C. Thomas and his lovely wife Glenda with us from Rochester College in Rochester Hills, Michigan to talk about diversity and how that looks in a Church of Christ. It was a wonderful weekend of meetings with various churches in the Indianapolis area as well as breakfasts, lunches and dinners. We were blessed to have them in our home along with eight other couples on Saturday evening. The conversations were wonderful as we talked about how diversity is not just about black and white but about Hispanic and Asian and so much more. We talked about how we are almost all on the South Beach Diet and how much sense it made and we laughed together as we shared our human foibles. It was a wonderful evening and I feel as though I met a new brother and sister I didn't know I had.

Sunday morning, Brother J.C. spoke at the morning service and then at 3:00 pm we gathered with church members from all over town to sing our hearts out and hear another wonderful talk by Brother J.C. Our usual fairly pale gathering was filled with color as we praised God in various ways that made us all move closer in mind and in heart. We were encouraged to remember that the Bible doesn't talk about blacks and whites. It talks about Jews and Gentiles. If we aren't Jews then we are Gentiles, no matter what color we are. And to top it all off, unlike the Jews who were born into being God's chosen people, we were grafted in. So who are we to say we're better than the next graft! It was just wonderful fellowship and praise all day long. Afterwards I walked through the aisles greeting our visitors and I have never been hugged so much or so enthusiastically by more people than I was yesterday. I absolutely loved it! My church family needs to learn how to hug from these wonderful brothers and sisters!

We went to the mountain this weekend. We climbed high and drank deeply of God's wonderful and amazing grace. Now what? Our leaders and the leaders of the other congregations have covenanted together to meet monthly and work toward a more blended way of thinking about worship. I am so excited to see where this will take us and to have more interaction with the various church families I don't get to worship with very often. I pray that we learn about each other and begin using our special gifts to reach out to all of Indianapolis on a more united front. I believe God will bless us abundantly if we follow through with this dream. One thing is for certain. I can hardly wait to get to heaven and get to singing with all the saints. It is going to be a concert to die for!!!

posted by Dana @ 1:47 PM