I’ve Been Thinking
August 7, 2006
His name is Harry.
He’s one of the guys who came into our lives as an addict and – at least to this point – hasn’t gotten sober. But he had a several month stint where he was sober. One day in a fit of candor he said to me: “I think you are full of it. I read the web site and I hear you talk about the Harbor vision and values. And then I live here in community with those who are at the core of this church, and the gap between your vision and the reality that I experience living here is a pretty large gap.”
Harry’s words stung! I spent several days pondering them…praying over them…attempting to distinguish between the truth and the lies.
Here’s what we say about ourselves: We are disciples of Jesus living in missional community. That little phrase is filled with rich meaning for me.
1. We are disciples not religious consumers.
2. We are learning obedience through suffering, just as Jesus did.
3. We live in community where transparency, authenticity, and accountability can happen most effectively.
4. We share a missional assignment to the lost and the least in our neighborhood.
5. This is a richly gifted and yet very dark community that needs the mature love of Jesus Christ.
I want to tell the truth because I really do believe it is what sets us free. The truth is that we sincerely desire to be the mature, transforming love of Jesus Christ in this community. And the truth is that this is a very dark community where much ground is yet to be plowed. And building a church around new believers is a slow, painstaking process.
So it is true – we are disciples of Jesus, living in missional community. That’s in our heart and with determination and commitment we are living into that. And it is also true that there is a gap between what we desire and what we currently experience. And it is also true that God is able to do more than we can ask or imagine…so we are telling the truth about what is in our hearts and what is real in our daily lives and are asking you to pray for us that God will give us what we need to stay the course until the vision is fully realized.
-Jim Herrington