The Body

There are so many things I'd like to say in this post. So much has changed in such a short period of time. However, I will attempt keep this short and sweet-- and I'll try to keep the rambling to a minimum...

The Body of Christ. Without realizing it, I think I always assumed that The Body of Christ was the group of people who went to my church. We were the Body and we were all supposed to work together. If you didn't go to my church, you were part of a separate Body.

However, even when I believed The Body was basically comprised of the people in my own church, I knew in my mind what a backwards way this was of thinking. The Body of Christ is not limited to one building, or one style of worship, or one pastor. We, collectively, are ALL the Body of Christ. (See I Cor. 12)

I know that this is not exactly earth-shattering information for most of you. However, in the experiences I've had over the last two weeks, I've really gotten to know this truth at a level I've never experienced it in the past.

I left my church home of the last five years last week. It was hard. It was one of the most painful experiences of my entire life. The thing that was toughest to communicate to all of the "but WHY's"was the fact that I didn't leave for a tangible "reason". There was nothing specific I could point to and say "this is why". More than anything, I just knew that the Lord wanted me somewhere else- and He wasn't going to stop prodding until I was obedient.

So now, the girl who thought that "The Body" was made up of the people who went to her church, is going to another church-- a very different church than the one she previously attended. I am loving every minute of it. I'm challenged in entirely new ways, and I am thinking about doing things I never thought I'd consider-- missions, full-time ministry, leaping forward into the unknown...

But, does this mean that I am part of a new Body? That switching churches means I have switched loyalties? No. You see, First Baptist is just as much part of The Body as NewSpring Church is. Someone who loves First Baptist probably wouldn't love how they do things at NewSpring. And that is such good news! First Baptist can continue ministering to those people who love their style and structure, and for those people who prefer something different-- there are places like NewSpring, Columbia Church, or any other church in Columbia! We aren't in competition. The Body is not the building we worship in, the group of people we worship with, or the way in which we worship on Sunday mornings. We are ALL The Body- and we all come with the same message, just in different packages... And rather than moving forward with the perspective that we are in competition with one another, how much better would it be if we went forward realizing that we are all working together for the same goal?

I'm pretty sure I know how Christ would feel about it. My favorite passage in the entire Bible is the section where he is in the Garden of Gethsemane, He's about to die on a cross, and He prays for us. Read it. John 17:6-26

My Top 3 of 2009

After reading a similar post on one of my favorite blogs, Andrew Peterson's The Rabbit Room, I have decided to post my top three movies, music, and books of 2009 :) Enjoy!

Movies:
Okay, so I really don't like to see movies in the theater... I can literally count on one hand the number of movies I actually went to a theater to see over the past year and usually it was because someone else wanted to go. So I bent my own rules a little to make this list. I would apologize, but it's my blog and I can do what I want to. So there. :)

• Slumdog Millionaire: Yes, this movie was actually released in the theater in 2008, but I didn't see it until 2009. This movie truly forced me to get outside of myself and to see life through the eyes of another. Yes, it was achingly sad to watch, but as much as it broke my heart, it also gave me hope. It's one of those movies I couldn't stop thinking about days after I saw it. That, my friend, is the mark of a truly good movie.
• Star Trek: Shocked? Yeah, me too. I went to see this movie with my parents over the summer and the only reason we went to it was because my dad wanted to see it (mom and I wanted to see Up). Truthfully, I like sci-fi type movies and tv shows, but usually these kinds of movies are poorly written and hastily thrown together (as in, all of the new Star Wars movies). I went in expecting to be bored and disappointed, but was more than a little surprised at how much I truly enjoyed this movie. It was funny (I mean laugh out loud funny), it didn't try to be an obnoxious tribute to the old movies, it was well-cast, and the plot was suspenseful and engaging.
  
• Little Dorrit: This was really a mini-series done by BBC, but, as I said, I don't see movies in the theater and this was one movie I loved and wanted to see again so it's on the list :) Charles Dickens is one of my favorite authors, and this mini-series beautifully adapted one of his books. It tells the story of one girl, Amy Dorrit, and her experiences going from absolute poverty to riches. Charles Dickens always has the best characters... His good characters are so, so good and his evil characters are truly evil. There's so much color and emotion in his stories and I love the layers within his storytelling. He doesn't just tell one story, he tells the stories of all of the characters. Andrew Davies wrote the screenplay for this-- he is best known for his screenplay for BBC's Pride and Prejudice-- and he has yet again perfectly adapted a classic piece of literature.

Music:
Music was both an easier and more difficult category for me to complete. I feel like I almost need to have different musical categories and do a top three within each category-- but for the sake of time (and to prevent carpal tunnel), I have begrudgingly narrowed it down to three albums I just can't seem to stop listening to.

• Waking Up (OneRepublic): All the Right Moves is seriously my new favorite song. I love the layers within their music-- the use of electronic sounds along with strings and pianos. The percussion hits hard and invokes an emotional response to the words being sung. A truly creative and fun album.
• Armistice (MuteMath): I have a weakness for this band... They are SO much fun and I love, love, love, love this album. Armistice is my favorite song on the album, but I love that each song has it's own personality and message. There is truly a song for every mood, and that, in my mind, is a mark of a great album.
  
• Prospekt's March (Coldplay EP): Okay, okay, so this album was actually released in 2008, but I didn't know it existed until 2009... It's Coldplay, so I can't not have it on my list. It's truly one of the best things my ears have listened to this year.
  
• Honorable Mentions: Church Music (David Crowder Band); Ocean Eyes (Owl City); Danyew-- he's released 3 short EPs, and each of them is creative, beautiful, and heart-wrenching

Books:
I love books, but this past year has been difficult for me to be able to sit down and complete a book. Therefore, this list is not my best- but I'll do the best I can :)

• Books 1 & 2 of The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson: I grabbed these books in October not really expecting much. Andrew Peterson is known for his song-writing and sometimes when singers (and actors, for that matter) try to cross over into novel-writers the results are a little sloppy. But these books truly, truly became one of my all-time favorite series. Peterson was able to write a story that integrated laugh-out-loud moments with moments that made me grab for the kleenex. I will say that this series is considered to be written for children, but no matter what age you are I promise you can't help but love them. Peterson has only written the first two in the series, and he is planning on five, so I am waiting impatiently for him to get writing on the next story. In the meantime, I am reading the first book in the series (On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness) to my third graders right now and am loving watching them love these books too.
  
• Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore: Don't read this book if you're not comfortable with being slapped in the face with your own selfishness and stereotypes. This is a memoir written by two men who are very unlikely friends. Ron is a multi-million dollar earning art dealer, and Denver spent most of his life homeless. The book is basically a series of vignettes telling about their lives, their spiritual journeys, and their friendship with one another. I don't know that any book has convicted me on my propensity to pre-judge and stereotype people more than this book. If you haven't read it yet, I strongly (strongly!) recommend that you do. It will break your heart in all the right ways.
• The Voice New Testament: This modern Bible translation was one that I hesitated to put onto my blog-- mostly because people get a little bent out of shape when they hear the words "modern Bible translation". However, I absolutely love this translation. I find it easier to use than it's predecessor, The Message, mostly because the language is exquisite and poetic. This translation was completed by leaders of the emergent church movement (including Chris Seay, Lauren Winner, Brian McLaren, and many others). Each book has an introduction that is written to tell it's back story, but unlike many translations, it doesn't give you just the facts. Every introduction is written almost like a story or poem, and it gets you engaged in what you are about to read in a new way. I will say that I don't really recommend this translation if you are looking to do some heavy-duty hermeneutics with the scriptures. However, it's a great tool to use when trying to relate scripture to young people and to people who don't read the Bible very much and aren't used to it's language.

So, there it is! My top three of 2009... I'm looking forward to my new discoveries in 2010 :)