Being Real

A few years ago, I (Benay) sat with our teammate, Matt, in our living room planning a campaign visit of a group from the states. It seemed that it was one more in a series of events that we had planned that year. These events kept us busy, for sure, but in the end didn't seem to bring a lot of results. That day, I looked at him and said, "I can't do this anymore." He agreed that he also had the same feelings. I believe that this feeling was one of the reasons that we felt led to work with house churches. Those events were not bad in and of themselves, but planning them and executing them had begun to feel like busy work or putting on a show.

At the end of 2006, we made a change from a big church building with attractional type events to a network of house churches. 2007 and 2008 were hard years. Many people are used to going to church on Sunday, sitting there and getting fed, and then going about their week. If they have a problem with a brother, they rarely say it. If they have a real need, such as a financial crisis, they rarely share it with others in the church family. At least this had been my experience. House church forces you to have intimacy and share those needs and deal with those problems. It makes you be real - but that is a hard thing to do. Some who found they couldn't be real have left. And for that we are sad.

Last Sunday was our Celebration service. (This is a monthly worship of all the house churches together at our church resource center - the CASA.) I would have loved for any of you to have been there. It seemed like what we have been longing for and praying for these past 2 years is finally truly happening. In an outside area with peeling paint and ugly landscaping, people felt free to be real. Not because of the paint (or lack thereof), but I believe because of the environment we have tried to foster these past 2 years.

• Before worship, we enjoyed coffee, tea, and snacks provided by one of the house churches.
• God was praised as we called out songs from the songbook and sang others from memory.
• Our teammate, Paul, gave an inspiring lesson about making the most out of your life.
• A brother asked for prayer because of financial difficulties and told how a weekly prayer meeting was helping him make it through.
• A sister got up and asked for donations for a bunk bed for a family who really needs it.
• Two men got up and shared their struggles with drugs and how God was helping them overcome.
• A sister and her family were prayed over as they will begin a new house church in their neighborhood this week (Praise God!).
  

• Another sister got up and read a scripture of encouragement for this new house church.
  In the center of this photo is Irotilde who will open her home for a new house church. To her left is Ines, who read the scripture of encouragement to her.
• One sister publicly thanked our brother Paulo Renato for the encouragement that he was giving her with his weekly phone calls.
• Kids sang and played.
• There were lots of tears, hugs and smiles of love.

I don't know what God has in store for us as we continue to work here. But I know that His Spirit was present with us on Sunday. And I am truly thankful that I can say that I do want to keep doing this.