Connections
I am currently in a country where outside communications is restricted and limited. In fact, it is a place that has controlled information flow for at least a few generations. Freedom of religion is something that has not been enjoyed over that same time. In fact, freedom of religion in its purest form is something that has been not truly enjoyed for centuries. Don’t get me wrong. Folks are interested. It is just that they have been restricted from pursuing their spiritual thoughts in an open public discourse.
But, there is a longing for connection and relationship. That is something that is as universal as love and hope and family. There is a longing for meaningful relationship. We have had occasion to connect some folks together who have not been connected other than their connection to our own ministry family. It has brought them great joy. It is seemingly for three reasons. First, they are finding other like-minded people with whom to share and find commonality. Second, they are finally part of something bigger than the provincial and private world that is about all they have known. Third, it is allowing them to be a part of expansion in a world that has been forced contraction by the powers that be in the government.
It is not that we have all that much to add to their significant ability to reach the lost, have vision, carry out God’s will for them or act faithfully upon their call. They are like everyone else who might have much. They still want to be part of something bigger and more diverse that enlarges their experience of what God is doing in the world outside of their own.
We are connected. We have instantly become a living and breathing family. And, it has enlarged our family by more than 2,000 churches. They feel blessed to be a part of something larger. We feel blessed to have them bring their years of struggling success and faithfulness to rub shoulders with our great family. All good connections bring pain and hardship into the relationship. But, at the end of the day, we become more whole by sharing that pain and hardship together. I love that connection.