This month we had the privilege of
traveling to Memphis, TN for the annual Christian Community Development (CCD)
national conference. Each year thousands
of CCD practitioners gather to worship God, to share stories of what is going
on in their communities and to learn from one another. For the past 7 years I have
been able to attend this conference and have been taught best practices from key
leaders and been given numerous resources to help me in serving the community
that I live in.
For the
past few years on the way home God would typically give me an idea or project to
bring back. This year was a little
different for me, in that after returning home this wasn’t happening. Each day I would reflect on the talks that I had
heard and the workshops that gave me useful tools, but I could not pin point
something new that God was putting on my heart.
Then one day my wife asked me “have you written
a post yet about CCDA?” I had to say no
and that I was struggling to see what the actual purpose of this trip was. As I began to think more about the conference
I realized that this year wasn’t about the key speakers or workshops that I attended
but more about the informal times that I was able to have; both with our church
pastors, who were able to attend for the first time, and with other men and
women giving their lives away in their respective communities.
As we have been on this journey that God has put us on there
have been ups and downs. We have had times of feeling isolated and all alone as
well as many joys. One of the amazing
things about being a part of the body of Christ is that we aren’t alone and
that we have one another to strengthen and encourage each other. This, more
often than not, comes when we need it the most and that is just what I was in need of.
I was able to sit with others over meals, cups of
coffee and car rides to share vision for what we see God doing in our churches,
city and throughout the country. These times
created a stirring within me to press on to where God is leading us and our church. The author of Hebrews tells us, “let
us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting
to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another, all the
more as you see the Day drawing near.”
Now, I know that we can’t travel from city to city each week or month to
get this encouragement. We can; however,
get this same encouragement from our local church and fellow brothers and
sisters in our city each week and I hope and pray that we do!
