Celebrate the Source
My church background is various and vibrant. I have been a part of many different “streams” throughout my journey in following The Lord. My desire has always been to know him, in every way possible. In laying my life down to follow Jesus, He has led us into many different places, connecting us with beautiful people all over the globe. Sometimes, I sit and think back on the journey, the faces of these brothers and sisters brought to mind, and my heart fills with great affection.
In our ‘yes’, we have moved a lot. My dad used to say, “y’all need a house on wheels” (which I would actually be down for, sounds like a fun adventure! ha!). After many years away, in 2025, The Lord called us to move back to Louisiana where Luke and I are both from. This past year has been full of full-circle moments. Reflecting back on the past twenty years, I marvel at the beautiful tapestry of family that The Lord has woven through our lives. It is as if, he moved us from coordinate to coordinate, healing, imparting, teaching and establishing our hearts along the way. But one thing I have come to recently recognize is the connection of family that The Lord has been collecting and building in the background. All throughout the different streams he has been and continues to, establish us in authentic love and family. Which is the ultimate desire of Abba’s heart as well as the preparation of the beautiful bride.
As you can imagine, in moving many times, we have experienced both the excitement and the pain that comes with transition. It is truly bittersweet. Bitter in the breaking away, sweet in the excitement and blessing that comes with obedience. I have found that often times people get stuck or struggle in these moments of transition. I also feel like there is a lot of shifting happening within the body of Christ right now. Many people are finding themselves here in this place. It may feel chaotic, but I truly believe many of us are being aligned and reassigned into spaces to prepare us for all that The Lord is desiring to pour out upon His bride in the coming days. Still, transition can be very hard for many people. It is very common in church culture to be offended when someone leaves a community. It can often feel like rejection which unfortunately, in some unhealthy cases it is. Either way, if not surrendered to Jesus, holding on to the wound of rejection will lead to a walled-up, calloused heart. It stunts the growth of the individual as well as clouds one’s ability to hear and receive what Holy Spirit is saying. Because we are the body of Christ, holding onto these wounds, not only affects us but the whole body.
On the other side of this, when one does leave in a healthy way, out of obedience, in attempt to maintain relationship they too can also experience feelings of rejection and misconception. There is a felt shift, things are not what they used to be. Things suddenly feel different because of a separation of sorts. This perceived shift in relationship communicates “you are no longer one of us”, also leading the person to experience rejection.
Over the years, we have experienced both sides of this coin. These thoughts and emotions are normal to the carnal mind, BUT we are not those who live by the carnal mind, we are those who have the mind of Christ! (1 Corinthians 2:16)
This truth changes the game. It calls us out of our feelings and into truth that empowers. It is a choice to lay down our perceptions and choose to take up His. This is the ONLY way the body of Christ will experience the unity it is called to.
There is ONE head of the body and that is Christ Jesus. HE is the river that sources the different streams. What if we actually believed that? How different would the modern day church look if instead of criticizing the streams, we celebrated the source?! How can we be one body if we still see through the lens of one leaving one body and joining another? Are we not ONE body, the body of Christ? Just like a river delta breaks into many streams, it is all sourced by one river. I believe there are natural changes that come to a relationship when one begins to flow in a different stream than another. If I am in a flowing stream, next to my friend, naturally there is a connection between us in our shared experiences. We are experiencing the same twists, turns, climate, debris. This shared experience creates a natural connection. So when one leaves that stream and either joins another or pioneers another path, obviously that shared experience stops, but that doesn’t mean the connection isn’t still there. (Hopefully, this is making sense to someone…) We remain connected because we are sourced by the same River, Jesus, who is love!
I remember an encounter I had in prayer one morning. I was laying down some offenses that I had toward someone in the church that I loved very much. Laying down some things that had really left me hurt and angry. As I laid these things before the Lord, I surrendered my perspectives and asked Him to give me his. I said “Holy Spirit, show me how you see this.” Suddenly, I saw before me the slaughtered, bleeding back of JESUS. My tears come even as I recall now. It was brutal and horrific. All I wanted to do in that moment was to cover him, bandage the wounds and stop the bleeding… I gently placed my hand on his back as to release healing. I asked Holy Spirit, “What are you showing me?” He said “This is my body. You are called to be a healer”. In that moment all I could see was love taking its rightful position. The religious are who crucified Jesus. They were fully convinced that they were serving God by crucifying Christ. How wrong they were. This same religious spirit is at work today seeking to divide. Every time we come against one another in a spirit of criticism and accusation, we are the ones with the whip in our hands, we are the ones yelling out “crucify him!” In showing me this, I knew the Lord was inviting me into His heart of “Father forgive them, they know not what they do”. Yielding to this heart position is where you authentically learn Christ. It is where true life is found and where Christ is formed within.
From personal relationships to global ministries, may we keep our hearts on the altar before the burning eyes of Christ, lest we find ourselves partnering with the hands that ripped open his back, or the voices shouting crucify him! It is time for our perspectives to be surrendered, for love to take its rightful place. For the church to receive grace, humility and the Spirit of The Fear of THE LORD. As long as we are, like scripture says, devouring each other, the Kingdom’s advancement is delayed.
So let us let go of offenses, partner with Christ in forgiveness and let’s celebrate the River source, who is Jesus!
