It just hit me. I guess because the school year just finished up and somewhere there are high school graduates celebrating their new-found freedom and remembering their memories of the last four years. I remember high school. Awkward years, mostly, of trying to figure out who I was and how to avoid being left out, singled out, or punched out.
What hit me is that painful transition I made during the middle of my junior year of high school. I moved in with my dad in a totally different place and totally different school. After Christmas break, I was the new kid at a new school with new people and it was tough.
I felt very much like I had invaded somebody else's territory and everybody there knew what was going on but me. Add that stress and discomfort to an already difficult time of transition and development (i.e. the teenage years) and you have the makings of a painful experience.
The reason my high school experience is particularly relevant to me now in my life is because of the new church we are launching. Our expressed intention is to be a church that is focused on connecting with people who are not a part of the church. For people checking out the church for the first time, or the first time in a long time, I imagine it could feel much like going into a new high school mid-way through your junior year. My prayer is that the bridge will allow someone to feel invited, welcomed, and like they fit right in.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
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