I had coffee with a friend this week who reminded me what's at stake with a church like ours as we strive to become the church God wants us to be.

He used a metaphor that intrigues me . . . the metaphor of the desert. As he spoke, pictures of people in our church and community flooded my head. I thought of single parents working so hard just to make “ends meet,” and marriages under so much stress and strain. People who have been ‘beaten up’ by religious folk came to mind, as did people who have gotten lost in the day-to-day monotony of existence. I thought of people who have given up on God or think He has given up on them . . . children who have strained relationships with their parents . . . those struggling with addictions of all shapes and sizes. In short, God brought to mind people who might be wandering in the desert right now or who consistently live there.

But then, just as suddenly, God began to bring to mind different images – images of families being healed, marriages being reconciled, and relationships with our Creator being restored through Christ. I saw the faces of prodigals returning home, struggling people on the journey together, and thankful people ready to share their hearts and hands with people around them. I saw people taking another look at Christ and His people because of what they had experienced. I saw what an eternal difference that could make.

In short, I was seeing what happens when the church of God functions like a Watershed – when we collect and share God’s love and mercy to those around us. We ‘shed’ it instead of collecting it.

And I was reminded once again why The Watershed matters. That’s what is at stake here in the Bay Area when we share a story of what God has done for us or invite a friend to church. It’s the difference between existence and abundant life. It’s the difference between being stuck in the temporary or investing in the eternal. It’s the difference between separation from God and a life-giving eternal relationship with God. It’s the difference between the desert and the Watershed.

September 12th we are having a Fall Launch event that is made to be an easy invite for you to extend to a friend, co-worker or neighbor. We are grilling hotdogs, having water slides for the kids and just having a great afternoon with each other. And it is all FREE!! We’re also going to be starting a new sermon series called “The Christian Atheist” which focuses on the ways and places in our lives where we say we believe in God, but live like He doesn’t exist (more on that in my blog next week!). Anyway, I hope you’ll pray about people in your lives that God might want you to invite on that Sunday! There’s a lot at stake . . . the desert or the watershed?

in Christ,
matt neely - pastor