there's no "i" in church

I've been given a awesome privilege: I will be officiating the wedding of one of my former students next weekend! Wahoo! Her name is Shelly and her beaux is Martin. She was in my youth group when I was youth pastor at Trinity Baptist in Farmersville, TX, during seminary. I just had the chance to reconnect with her over coffee yesterday...we hadn't seen each other in almost 10 years! Cool stuff!



For a while I had some promo's in the bulletin that started with "Life is Better with a Friend" and it's true. Church, when you reduce down, is about friendship. It's not about the Sunday show or "building the program"; no, it's about living in friendship with those whom God has placed in our lives. Then, the benefit (or the fun part) is that we GET to do ministry together, we get to touch people's lives and we get to see God do amazing things in US and through US.

There's no "I" in church...(I know, cheezy)...but it's still true. It's because of God's amazing grace that WE even have a life to live and that life only becomes abundant when it WE realize it's not about ME...it's always about US: Jesus, our biological family, our extended spiritual family and those who are yet to be born into this life WE know and enjoy in Christ.



That's what makes performing Shelly's wedding so cool...I pastored her from 1994-1997, trying to be the great youth guy. I look back and think, "I was SO clueless then!!!" (not that I'm totally with it now, either) But listen to this, she told me she always imagined me performing her wedding. Wow, me?!?

Farmersville wasn't about me at all. It was about us - me and some 40 or so kids, journeying through life, hoping we could figure it all out. We didn't figure it all out - by far - but God gave US what WE needed.

And He still does.