"How to Be the Church"

Here's an instant replay of what happened in worship:

We heard a story about a church that had a deep mistrust of pastors because of something that had happened 50 years earlier. Churches are living organisms with memories, and the emotional responses to those memories becomes part of the DNA of the church.
We wondered what kind of DNA Living Water will build. We hope to pass down an emphasis on hospitality and welcome. We hope to incorporate involvement in local and worldwide ministries. Most importantly, we hope to establish a strong focus on our mission to offer Christ's living water to spiritually thirsty people and help them become bearers of the living water to others.
We recognized that there will be other DNA we build, too. When conflict comes to the church, and it surely will, how we handle it will become part of who we are as a church. Paul gave us some great tips on this in Eph. 4:1-7, 11-15. He says we must speak with humility and gentleness, remembering that we bound together by one Spirit, one Lord, one God and Father of us all. What unites us is stronger than whatever may divide us. Paul also tells us to speak the truth in love.
We thought about how the truth is not always spoken in love. We also thought about how a church might be good at the speaking in love part, but not the truth part. We need both to move forward into mission as a healthy body of Christ.
We prayed that God would help us find that Spirit of unity no matter what threatened to divide us.
We celebrated at the table of love.