This is an email I recovered today that has much to do about what friendship in Christ is all about. Thank you Frank for sending this to me, thank you God for helping my heart to see what you ultimately call us to be as your children.
10/25-2005
Please forgive the bulk email. I don't want to be impersonal. If you're getting this, you're someone whom I care about spiritually. Some of you I owe a phone call. Some of you I just recently met. Likely, you're either someone whose life I moved from or you're someone who has moved from mine. There are only a couple people on this list from my local congregation and that's intentional. Consider this outreach. Consider this a spiritual newsletter. Consider it whatever you want, but please consider it. Some of you may no longer be going to church or going to what I might say is "my" church. That's ok. If you're still pursuing your relationship with God, this still applies.
So what's the point of this? Am I "recruiting" you? No. It is my conviction that the "one another" passages in the Bible are not bound by geography. Or by the name above the church door. You were once a part of my spiritual life. And while I'm the worst person in the world when it comes to keeping in touch, I've recently been convicted that staying in touch is more than just what friends should do but usually don't. Instead I feel it is a spiritual responsibility. Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians because he heard from "Chloe's household" about what was going on in their church. He stayed in touch. And he cared.
If you've been keeping up with the current events in the church, you know that there is a concern over the unity of our fellowship. There are proposals, letters, emails, anonymous postings, etc everywhere complaining, criticizing, or offering solutions. Some want complete autonomy. Others want a hierarchal structure. I'm taking no sides in this email and I'm not trying to sway any of you any way. But I do want to share with you my convictions.
In Ephesians when it talks about unity, it says that some were given to be "apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Eph 4:11-13) What this tells me is that we have all been given gifts useful for building one another up. And it is in the building that we reach unity. It is not the responsibility of any single leader or even a group of leaders. It is all of our responsibility.
So this is a call to unity. This is a call for us to continue to be involved in each others' spiritual lives in spite of the distance between us. And this is also an encouragement for you all to do the same to others.
There is an irony in what the church has been going through. Many people have moved away from churches where they've been involved for years to either move closer to home or for a job or for both. These same people were asked years ago to move to help the churches they were once a part of. Yet should our spiritual concern for each other end when the moving truck pulls away? Instead a unique opportunity to touch lives in churches we may never visit presents itself. At the same time the internet is being used to anonymously slander leaders or churches, or to criticize without any commitment to help, or to write missives explaining doctrinal stances that you need a PhD to understand. Why can't this same internet (called by some to be "spiritual pornography") be used to build up rather than tear down? To unite rather than divide?
That is my conviction. And so I'm emailing all of you. I'm going to keep emailing you updates on what's going on in my church or in my personal spiritual life. There's a fine line between boasting and boasting in the Lord that I hope not to cross. This isn't to brag, but to offer ideas and encouragement. I'd like the same in return. If your church spends 14 weeks studying the church in Ephesus (like we just completed) I'd like to hear about it. If your Bible talk/family group/small group/etc is reading a book together that you find helpful for your spiritual walk, I'd like to hear about it. If you've just had the best quiet time of your life, I'd like to hear about that too. Even if you just want to forward me a cheesy religious email, that's ok. Unity does not mean conformity, but I'd like to hear from you what works in your church/personal ministry/small group and see how I could apply it here. That's what I plan on doing with these emails. Also please, please, please, let me know if you're in need of prayers. You don't have to hit "reply all" to share. That's my job.
This email is reserved for spiritual communication. Personal correspondence (like pictures of my handsome 9 month old) can be directed to (deleted email address). If you want no part of this, email and let me know. Also, there are some people missing that I need your help to find. I need the O'Day's email at Creighton, the Lusk's in St. Louis, the Hickman's in LA, Sugarman in LA, the Brozanic's in KC, and the Lunsford's in Nashville. I pray you are all open to this and this can be an encouragement to you. Again, I urge you to do the same for others in your life.
To God be the glory!
-Frank & Rosa
(btw, in case you were wondering Father Frank was a nickname that goes back to the CU ministry and north region teens. I figure it works for this purpose although I changed it to not be confused for a priest.)
