What is your story?

I sat this morning contemplating how to begin the process of writing The Power of Unity Volume II and the concepts of building healthy relationships in the church.  Sometimes starting a new book is much like trying to dislodge the cork from a bottle.  I have all these thoughts and concepts I want to share, but where to start?

However, as I put my fingers to the keyboard the following thoughts began to form. Slowly at first, soon it began to flow freely surprising even me… as the story line developed.  I had no idea it would start like this…..

Jonathon was a busy and active teenager.   While his family attended church on special occasions, they did not make church a priority.  The family was overwhelmed with social commitments; fundraising events, school sports, work commitments, birthday celebrations with friends and family, well you get the picture. Who has time to attend church?

Jonathon had a busy social schedule, but he could not help but notice that some of his classmates would sometimes turn down opportunities to party with their friends to attend church related events instead.  Why?  What could possibly be more fun than attending a party with friends?  Besides, Jonathon had recently been introduced to some recreational drugs and had begun experimenting at these parties.

It was just some harmless fun, or so he thought.  It was fun, until he tried drinking and driving and wound up in the hospital.  Fortunately, he would heal…. at least this time.

**********************************************************************************

Leslie was a young mother with three small children to raise, and a job that kept her away from home more than she liked.  While she was married, her husband was rarely home. When he was home, she often found herself wishing that he was not! Anger, aggression, and alcohol made him difficult to live with and filled their lives with drama and fear.

One night his aggression coupled with too much alcohol sent the whole family into a crisis.  Leslie was injured, her husband arrested, and her children forced to stay with relatives until Leslie could be released from the hospital.  Something had to be done, Leslie was done living in fear.  A co-worker invited her to church.  It was this church that offered her support and more importantly, the answers she was seeking.

***********************************************************************************

Raymond and his lovely bride Brenda lived in a comfortable home in the suburbs.  Raymond’s job as an investor afforded them a lifestyle that many would envy.  Their home was paid for and they had a nice nest egg put away for the future.  Then the unthinkable happened, Brenda was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Surgery and chemo were the treatments of choice, and at first all seemed to be well.  The doctor declared she was cancer free, but a year later Brenda became ill.   The doctors discovered she had a brain tumor and a suspicious shadow on her left lung.

Soon Brenda’s condition deteriorated, she required around the clock care.  Raymond adored his bride of thirty years.  Because they could afford to do so, he decided to take early retirement to become her full-time caregiver.  He spent those last few years providing her care, but at last she did not recover. Raymond found himself alone and full of questions.  A neighbor invited Raymond to attend his church’s grief share group.

______________________________________________________

While each of these people have different stories, they have one thing in common… they are each in search of answers.  They are each searching for significance and meaning for their lives.  While Jonathon, Leslie, and Raymond may not be real people, they represent real people that we have all seen, known, or heard about.  We each have a story.  Jonathon, Leslie, and Raymond have a story.  I have a story and you have your own story.

The stories of these three people and the people they will interact with within the church, will help us better understand how relationships, healthy and unhealthy, form a church.  None of us, not even one of us, is whole without Christ.  We must first recognize our need, then we must seek the answer, and accept Christ.  It is only in Christ that we become healed and whole.  Healing and wholeness are a journey that each of us must walk out, we must be willing to submit to and cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit.  It is that process of healing, wholeness, and empowerment that we will discuss in the remainder of this volume.

More to come from The Power of Unity Volume II soon.