Earlier this week, Fireseed took a couple of days away to dream and plan for the next couple months. In missionary lingo it’s a ‘retreat’ – in layman terms, it’s like coming back to the huddle to strategize. We set out in the rain and and arrived in Mason, TX in the freezing cold; it was a relief settling into our cozy bed and breakfast right in the town square. That afternoon and the next day, we spent most of our time in the living room gathered around the fireplace.
Our time in Mason was an encouraging and fruitful couple days. The huddle is good, it’s necessary. But when you get that close to your team-mates you can see the bruises, the ripped and grass-stained jerseys, the blood drying on cuffed up knees. I remember thinking about how messy community is, even when its goal is to be in ministry. Parents had to function on only a few hours of sleep after a restless night with the kids. We worked with young kids who were less than compliant about hours spent in planning meetings. We stretched our patience thin, talked in circles, humor ran low… but as the fire burned down and swamped the room in clouds of sweet smoke, we began to pray hopefully and I was filled with confidence that yes, the huddle is good. We need each other – we need the messiness and difficulty.
But it’s still so tempting to want to streamline things and do it alone. It’s like emptying the dishwasher with the help of someone who doesn’t know how your is kitchen organized: it’s always easier to just do it on your own rather having to explain where the plates go and why you only stack some of the cups upside down and that there are two different sets of silverware that just shouldn’t be put together…
But that’s not how God does it.
He asks us to help him empty the dishwasher. Sometimes he even lets us organize the pot cupboard. Our God works with us. He pulls us into the team. And if anyone has a case for just doing things on His own, it’s the freak’n Creator of the Universe.
Community never looks like what you dream – unless you dream of having misunderstandings, confusion, irritation. But accomplishing something alone is hardly as beautiful or as satisfying in the end as doing it with a team. It pushes us into a new places of challenge, but it also takes us to new levels of growth.
At the start of the new year, it’s ingrained in our culture for us to think about making changes in their life. More exercise, fewer calories, to finally finish reading “War and Peace” – whatever it may be. And often, it’s a resolution we make on our own.
I challenge you to find a community. Find a team of people who are dreaming towards the same things you are and bring them alongside you. Let them frustrate and strengthen you.
When you’re on the field, playing the game, you need your team. You need to know everyone’s in on the game plan, to know everyone is in this together. Let’s imitate God in this… come over and we’ll empty the dishwasher together.
