surprise…God style
sunday night…july 8, 2007…95 degrees outside + no A/C = no church inside…or so I thought!
i was bummed out that the air conditioning was broken (for the 3rd straight week!)…especially because 95 degrees outside meant that it was too hot inside to have our weekly gathering at the-living-room. sooo…grudgingly we decided to meet at our favorite local pizza joint (zwanzig’s)…where the a/c did work…to just have a night of hanging out. BUT, as i’ve come to learn, God can take these types of evenings and make them so much more than we expect.
i arrived early to order some pizza and as other people started showing up…things just started clicking. it was as if everyone was craving some chat time…and what started out as option “b”…quickly became option “a”. over the next 150 minutes, my discussions ranged from…new strategies for helping abused women…to better ways to educate our children…to meeting some incredible christians for the first time…to hearing about the first 2 weeks of a wonderful new marriage…to ideas for better helping the poor…to chatting with a homeless man who’s trying to get a new start…to meeting some more incredible christians for the first time…to discussing philosophies on “how to be like Christ”…to inviting sarah (who works for zwanzig’s) to hang out with us at tlr sometime…to the discussions on our latest auto repair and home improvement projects…to plans for a ddr (dance dance revolution) party!
and as i sit here a couple of hours later…i have to wonder if God didn’t have this evening intentionally planned out the entire time. not only did everyone seem to have a great time…but i believe that Jesus was laughing and cheering us on the whole time. it seems to me that without even realizing it, we were the church the way it’s meant to be. while the words “authentic” and “genuine” are way overused these days…they perfectly describe the evening as people were just naturally themselves…living life together…striving to be our best for Jesus…and enjoying a good time!
yes, the evening was definitely a surprise…God style!
-kwin
i agree!!!! what an amazing night. i don’t think i have ever hung out in a pizza place so long. and the conversations…wow!!! right on…
Greetings! I’m a newcomer to the Columbus area…and have been seeking a community of believers.
I saw a little blurb about The Living Room in the Republic yesterday….checked out your website…which led me to your blog….and I am quite impressed. I know I didn’t “stumble” upon TLR by chance. Thanks for letting your light shine, and shine brightly.