Greg's Weekly Word: "share"

Well...not really Greg's weekly word. At least not for these next few weeks.

We've already gotten to hear a couple of people's star words, and they are certainly worth sharing. So I want to highlight some of these in the coming month or two.

The following came from Eric Bebber, who shared his word - share - with us in worship this past Sunday.

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The star word that I pulled out of the offering plate a few weeks ago is share.

Share, I have learned, is a word that is used A LOT in recovery circles:

For roughly the last decade, I had the great privilege of living and working in a recovery community in Washington, DC, where formerly-homeless alcoholics and drug addicts invited me to watch and listen in non-judgment as they shared with each other their stories of heartache, pain, and rock bottom...and hope, abundance, and redemption.

And now, I can’t help but see the church through their lens. They would say they ruined me -- in a good way, of course. I tend to think that maybe AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) is sort of a manifestation of the church, that even strikes at the heart of the church’s purpose:

There is no lecturing or judging. There is only the reading of universal truths, the sharing of their own story, and gratitude. That’s it. As Frederick Buechner points out, they share about where they went wrong and how day by day they are trying to go right. They share about where they find the strength and hope to keep trying.

My family and I are new to Augusta Heights. And as we immerse ourselves in this community, I pray that you and I find strength and hope to keep trying, as we share our lives together -- whether that happens in Sunday school, in the church corridor before worship, around the bar at Grateful Brew, or around one another’s kitchen tables.

Having come out of a stubborn indifference to faith, becoming a fervent lover of the heart of God could not have been possible without community and vulnerability. I confess I need you to help me on my journey to fight indifference to faith in God -- to find the strength and hope to keep trying. And I promise to love and support you to find strength and hope to keep trying on your journey too.

And maybe, just maybe, in the midst of our heartache, pain, or rock bottom, you and I will have the great privilege of sharing love, hope, abundance, and redemption together.

Thank you for letting me share.

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And thanks to Eric for sharing!

- GJD