Joining the church

We've decided to join a church here in Birmingham, and we've found one that we really enjoy. Tara and I have been attending since September, and we are now official members of The Church at Brook Hills, an amazing church with a biblical mission - To make disciples of all nations. This was the command of Christ and many do not even know of it. We are thankful that we have found our church and our pastor, David Platt because we have experienced immense spiritual growth that is NOT for our OWN use, but instead to SPREAD the WORD to OTHERS and make disciples. Many often see Christianity as stopping with themselves and the consumption of church activities for the betterment of themselves. The problem is, it leaves out the other half of the equation. If we learn anything in church, or from our devotions, or from prayers, worship, or service, we are to PASS IT ON to others. When sharing with others about what God has done in your life and sharing the Word with others becomes our goal, and our mission becomes pouring our lives into others, it will accomplish the goal of Christ - to see all nations and all peoples represented in His Kindgom. We must strive to learn more and encourage one another to Show the Word with our actions. We must hold each other to higher standards and help each other when we struggle, for this is the way we are called to live. I have learned a lot in the past few months from hearing David's teaching and through reading the Word of God - again, not for myself, but so I can pass on what I learn to encourage others. Be encouraged, God has promised to bless His plan and He is faithful.

Short story - Our small group at church was collecting toothbrushes for a remote village in Peru who did not have any. Being the dental student in the group, I was tasked with finding any toothbrushes at school. So, I procrastinated and finally decided to email my professor and ask if she knew any way to get some donated toothbrushes. She then replied to me saying that her aunt has been a missionary in Peru for over a decade and she has a special place in her heart for Peru. She also just happened to have three large boxes of toothbrushes, floss, and toothpaste - just in case anyone happened to need it! She then told me that she was happy she could now clean out her closet and she was so happy that she could donate to the people in Peru. -- Here's the cool part -- I did NOTHING to set this up - it was ALL part of God's plan. Through my simple action of emailing a professor, which took about 3 minutes, and trusting that God would be faithful- He worked through us to provide oral hygiene products to a small village in Peru. He set it up so that HE would get all of the credit - for I cannot claim ANY credit for this divine transaction.

I thought my blog was lacking some substance, and I'm glad I finally realized that what I should have been talking about all along has been with me from the beginning.

PS - if you want to watch any of David's teaching - I recommend the Abide or Lifeblood series, in the .mov format for Quicktime. It'll change your life.