Moving Away....18 Years Has Come to an End
Today was a difficult day for me...
I knew this day was coming eventually, because several months ago a 'FOR SALE' sign appeared on my neighbor's lawn. I had heard rumors, bits of information, overheard as they were being shared with others. Then the news trickled in from the grape vine that an offer had been made...
My main source of information was my children repeating things that they had heard while they with their friends. Communication was all second hand or third hand info. Amazing since we had been close friends for many years and they lived right next door.
Today, I had mixed feelings, as we helped the family next door pack their belongings into a truck so they could move to a new house a few miles away across town.
After-all they had been our next door neighbors for 18 years!
If they had simply remained neighbors it wouldn't have affected me so much to see them moving today. But we had gone way too deep in our relationship in the early years, they have been much more than neighbors to my wife and I in years gone by. We had laughed together, cried together, prayed together, poured our lives into theirs, helped them build a bible study fellowship group from the very beginning, through five years of growth and transitions.
Let me share a little of our history...
The first time a 'FOR SALE' sign appeared on that lawn, was in late 1994, my wife and I began to pray for the new family that would be eventually moving into the house next door. In April 1995, a young couple moved their things in, In June we noticed their arrival and there were a couple brief interactions, a quick exchange, a favor granted while standing at our open door, nothing out of the ordinary for neighbors.
However, in early August of that year, we got a chance to meet both of them together, step into their home for the first time and talk. The first thing we discussed, right after their interest in finding child care, was about their recent church shopping experience.
Earlier that same day, I felt as though God had spoken to my heart and told me that we were to go begin to the Evangelic Covenant Church in town. In fact I had just given my wife the news about 30 minutes before this introduction to our new neighbors.
When they brought the topic of church shopping, I asked where they had been shopping, in hopes of finding out where they were spiritually. The husband quickly said we have been to a lot of places, but none of that matters, because we have decided we are going to the Evangelical Covenant Church. My eyebrows went up and I looked over at my wife.
Something about that first conversation captivated them and they wanted more, they said to each other that they wanted to hear God's voice. Six weeks passed and we ended up in the same Sunday school class in mid-September 1995. The class offered was Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby, and is an excellent tool to assist helping people to realize they can hear God themselves it turns prayer into a two way conversation.
What happened during the course of that class and what happened as we spent time together, in getting to know my wife and I, changed their Christian experience. I invited the husband to a charismatic meeting where he received the Holy Spirit, with the laying on of hands. The Lord spoke to me the next night and asked me to ask Him, to join their property to ours, for the purpose He had already spoken to me, two years earlier. He asked me to include their house and lot in the 'territory' of an Embassy from the Stone Kingdom to the city of Mankato. A few weeks later my new friend came to me and said, "I feel like God is asking me to open my home for a bible study, I smiled, because God had asked me to pray and include their lot into the calling I had received for my lot.* I asked him how long have you been thinking about this? He said about two weeks now. He then asked will you help me? I said. Of course!
We ran a weekly fellowship group together for 2.5 years right out of his living room, dining room and kitchen while we attended the Evangelical Covenant Church, and for another 2.5 years out of a church building, while we attended the Christian Life Center, where we created a living room atmosphere within the building and towards the end began to use the sanctuary.
During the five years that transpired, we co-labored in bringing people into a place of hearing God's voice, in the context of a relational group of seekers. We went into the presence of the Lord together, we served together, we prayed together. The lady of the house and my wife became prayer partners, as did her husband and I. I took him with me on prayer campaigns as I traveled to other cities in Southern Minnesota.
*(Historically our two lots had been one farmstead, my neighbor lived in the original farm house while my wife and I lived in the retirement home the couple later built for themselves. The lots were divided at that time and the house number attached to his house had been moved to mine back in 1952, merging and confusing some of the historical records down at the historical society.)
In August of 2000 almost exactly five years from the day we stood in his living room and talked about church shopping. We laid down the work we were doing together, which had grown to 40-50 people and had caused a stir in the leadership team, to save the church because the leadership was in a crises. Although I was not comfortable with the direction that some of the influential parties were pushing us to go, I was also trying to submit to perceived leadership as well as positional leadership.
The Pastor called in an outside group of leaders from Missouri and a transition in leadership took place within the church eldership beginning the last week of August. During the next ninety days from September 1 through November 30th 2000, I was asked if I would come along side the pastor and work together on physically building out the space, that the church had just leased.
This sabbatical as it was called, was intended to be a team building time.
Instead it became a time of isolation, for both the pastor and his wife and for me and the men and women who had been members of our little flock. This isolation also put a distance between us and this couple who lived right next door. Fear and intimidation mixed with suspicion kept them from asking the questions. All of the things we did together for five years were called into question and then relegated to insignificance. It was judged to be of questionable merit because it didn't fit in the box.
My neighbors were welcomed and included into the new core leadership team. While we were excluded from any interaction with anyone in the church for 90 days ending on November 30 , 2000. In addition I was judged as having overstepped my place of authority, I was accused of offering "strange fire".
The bottom line is that for the last thirteen years, we have lived right next door and although we have continued to be in the same local fellowship, the deep relationship we shared for the first five years, has not been restored. Still, it brings me sorrow that a relationship as strong as this one was could so easily be put aside and thirteen years has not closed much of the distance.
So in one way today's move just puts physical manifestation, to what has become a spiritual and relational reality.
I am left with trying to access the proper weight to put on this event and its timing.
What does it signify? if anything?
Does this move have anything to do with what we have been praying about?
How could it have been timed so perfectly as to land on the very same day as we ended our 40 day prayer campaign?
Various writings from the past
The Road Not Taken
At Home In MN
I knew this day was coming eventually, because several months ago a 'FOR SALE' sign appeared on my neighbor's lawn. I had heard rumors, bits of information, overheard as they were being shared with others. Then the news trickled in from the grape vine that an offer had been made...
My main source of information was my children repeating things that they had heard while they with their friends. Communication was all second hand or third hand info. Amazing since we had been close friends for many years and they lived right next door.
Today, I had mixed feelings, as we helped the family next door pack their belongings into a truck so they could move to a new house a few miles away across town.
After-all they had been our next door neighbors for 18 years!
If they had simply remained neighbors it wouldn't have affected me so much to see them moving today. But we had gone way too deep in our relationship in the early years, they have been much more than neighbors to my wife and I in years gone by. We had laughed together, cried together, prayed together, poured our lives into theirs, helped them build a bible study fellowship group from the very beginning, through five years of growth and transitions.
Let me share a little of our history...
The first time a 'FOR SALE' sign appeared on that lawn, was in late 1994, my wife and I began to pray for the new family that would be eventually moving into the house next door. In April 1995, a young couple moved their things in, In June we noticed their arrival and there were a couple brief interactions, a quick exchange, a favor granted while standing at our open door, nothing out of the ordinary for neighbors.
However, in early August of that year, we got a chance to meet both of them together, step into their home for the first time and talk. The first thing we discussed, right after their interest in finding child care, was about their recent church shopping experience.
Earlier that same day, I felt as though God had spoken to my heart and told me that we were to go begin to the Evangelic Covenant Church in town. In fact I had just given my wife the news about 30 minutes before this introduction to our new neighbors.
When they brought the topic of church shopping, I asked where they had been shopping, in hopes of finding out where they were spiritually. The husband quickly said we have been to a lot of places, but none of that matters, because we have decided we are going to the Evangelical Covenant Church. My eyebrows went up and I looked over at my wife.
Something about that first conversation captivated them and they wanted more, they said to each other that they wanted to hear God's voice. Six weeks passed and we ended up in the same Sunday school class in mid-September 1995. The class offered was Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby, and is an excellent tool to assist helping people to realize they can hear God themselves it turns prayer into a two way conversation.
What happened during the course of that class and what happened as we spent time together, in getting to know my wife and I, changed their Christian experience. I invited the husband to a charismatic meeting where he received the Holy Spirit, with the laying on of hands. The Lord spoke to me the next night and asked me to ask Him, to join their property to ours, for the purpose He had already spoken to me, two years earlier. He asked me to include their house and lot in the 'territory' of an Embassy from the Stone Kingdom to the city of Mankato. A few weeks later my new friend came to me and said, "I feel like God is asking me to open my home for a bible study, I smiled, because God had asked me to pray and include their lot into the calling I had received for my lot.* I asked him how long have you been thinking about this? He said about two weeks now. He then asked will you help me? I said. Of course!
We ran a weekly fellowship group together for 2.5 years right out of his living room, dining room and kitchen while we attended the Evangelical Covenant Church, and for another 2.5 years out of a church building, while we attended the Christian Life Center, where we created a living room atmosphere within the building and towards the end began to use the sanctuary.
During the five years that transpired, we co-labored in bringing people into a place of hearing God's voice, in the context of a relational group of seekers. We went into the presence of the Lord together, we served together, we prayed together. The lady of the house and my wife became prayer partners, as did her husband and I. I took him with me on prayer campaigns as I traveled to other cities in Southern Minnesota.
*(Historically our two lots had been one farmstead, my neighbor lived in the original farm house while my wife and I lived in the retirement home the couple later built for themselves. The lots were divided at that time and the house number attached to his house had been moved to mine back in 1952, merging and confusing some of the historical records down at the historical society.)
In August of 2000 almost exactly five years from the day we stood in his living room and talked about church shopping. We laid down the work we were doing together, which had grown to 40-50 people and had caused a stir in the leadership team, to save the church because the leadership was in a crises. Although I was not comfortable with the direction that some of the influential parties were pushing us to go, I was also trying to submit to perceived leadership as well as positional leadership.
The Pastor called in an outside group of leaders from Missouri and a transition in leadership took place within the church eldership beginning the last week of August. During the next ninety days from September 1 through November 30th 2000, I was asked if I would come along side the pastor and work together on physically building out the space, that the church had just leased.
This sabbatical as it was called, was intended to be a team building time.
Instead it became a time of isolation, for both the pastor and his wife and for me and the men and women who had been members of our little flock. This isolation also put a distance between us and this couple who lived right next door. Fear and intimidation mixed with suspicion kept them from asking the questions. All of the things we did together for five years were called into question and then relegated to insignificance. It was judged to be of questionable merit because it didn't fit in the box.
My neighbors were welcomed and included into the new core leadership team. While we were excluded from any interaction with anyone in the church for 90 days ending on November 30 , 2000. In addition I was judged as having overstepped my place of authority, I was accused of offering "strange fire".
The bottom line is that for the last thirteen years, we have lived right next door and although we have continued to be in the same local fellowship, the deep relationship we shared for the first five years, has not been restored. Still, it brings me sorrow that a relationship as strong as this one was could so easily be put aside and thirteen years has not closed much of the distance.
So in one way today's move just puts physical manifestation, to what has become a spiritual and relational reality.
I am left with trying to access the proper weight to put on this event and its timing.
What does it signify? if anything?
Does this move have anything to do with what we have been praying about?
How could it have been timed so perfectly as to land on the very same day as we ended our 40 day prayer campaign?
Various writings from the past
The Road Not Taken
At Home In MN
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