Mountaintop Musings

The calendar says that spring has come to Montana, but it does not seem like it has come to the high country. I must say that I was spoiled last week as Lisa and I travelled to Cannon Beach, Ore. to attend our mission’s annual conference. We enjoyed a few 60 degree days, a fair amount of wind and rain, and the greenery of western Oregon. It was a nice time away except for the driving, but well worth it.

Spring brings renewal to the land and the people, and so does attending a conference with over 140 like-minded missionaries. We enjoyed solid Biblical teaching, wonderful music, and some amazing food. One of the best things about a conference like this though is the renewal of friendships with people we have not seen for many years, and the making of new friends.

The relationships and sense of community we enjoyed remind us that as human beings we are made to be in community with others. We need friends who will encourage us, that we can learn from, that we can share with, and that are willing to journey with us through the trials of life. We are not the same, even with those closest to us. Sure, we may have many of the same values, and goals, but in reality no two people are carbon copies in how we process life. It is important for us to have a diversity of people to help us live a full and satisfying life. It is like the beautiful roses and flowers that the west coast is known for. No two are exactly the same. Or snow flakes. Scientists tell us that no two snow flakes are exactly the same. After the winter we have just had I sometimes wonder if that is really true, because we have had a lot of snowflakes descend on us! But a field of flowers is more beautiful than a single plant, and one cannot ski on a bucket full of snow; we need diversity.

Because we are unique individuals, life takes on a richness and fullness that would not be there if we were all the same. To me that shows the wonder of creation, the majesty of God. He has created us male and female (Genesis 1:27). He has given us the ability to produce off-spring and have a family (1:28). We have life, both physical and spiritual. This life is temporal in that we are given a certain amount of time to live, be part of this marvelous creation, make friends, to love, work and to live in community with others.

As a born-again Christian I find that one aspect of community that I love the most and miss the most when I am not in it is the community of church fellowship. Augustine said about God, “Thou hast created us for Thyself, and our heart is not quiet until it rests in Thee.” To rest in God is to be in right relationship with God, to be intimate with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. As part of that relationship the Bible is clear that to come to God one must go through the Son (John 14:6), again a sense of relationship and community is embedded in this. Jesus said he is the head of the Body when talking about his church. So to be in close community with Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit, one must by default be in community with a local expression of the Body.

Within the last month I have been given a blessed opportunity to become pastor of the Community Bible Church of Lincoln. Lisa and I are excited to embark on this new journey of faith and are eager to se how God is going to develop our relationship with the people and community. We are still going to serve as area missionaries, and maintain our current work. But the time is right to become part of another chapter in God’s plan for his creation. If you are not in community with Jesus maybe this is the day you can invite him in to your life. Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead and you will be saved (Romans 10: 9-10).

(Dave & Lisa Carroll are area missionaries with InFaith, America’s oldest Christian home mission agency. You can contact Dave at 406.459.8935 or [email protected].)