The Words of the Cooper Family
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The Words of the Cooper Family |
Well, at least for 2011 our plan in the Lancaster Gate community is to explore home church as a path to discovering salvation beyond the blessing and our association with True Parents. We want to see how much we can live the life style more than wear the badge.
Jesus said: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6
But then he went on to say 'take up your cross and follow me'.
When some Christians are trying to convince someone of why they should accept Jesus as their savior they tend to emphasis the former (John 14:6) rather than the latter when it is in many senses the taking up of the cross and the life style that really saves, changes the life of the person and the environment around them. The same also happens with us sometimes. "Phew, they got blessed!" Meaning… they received the marriage blessing, they got married in the Unification Church. But, of course we know somewhere in our heart that the ceremony is just the starting point, and don't we sometimes ignore that reality.
Rev Moon talks about going the eight stages from servant of servant through to becoming a child of God, to becoming a true parent. There are the other eight stages which involve gaining a dominion of love, going from the individual level to the family, all the way through to the level of the society, nation, all the way up to the cosmic realm.
Understanding that spiritual path is arguably far more important than simply 'believing' in True Parents. It is only through walking the path that you really discover what you are professing to believe in, and thus find yourself becoming an authentic believer.
That is half the problem for most of us in the congregation, me included, whether seemingly v faithful or seemingly a bit on the periphery, we aren't well versed in focusing on walking the path diligently. Some of us get tricked into thinking we are more special than others because of what we believe…The story of Joseph is a great moral and spiritual example for all of us -- it's about a man who is faithful to God and conscientious in his actions towards those around him. Whether he was made a slave or falsely accused, or thrown into prison or made prime minister, he testified to his God in exactly the same way each time -- with humility, and became trusted and given authority by those around him each time.
So anyhow we are hoping to find out if the home church tradition of going out and serving others is the real deal. This is what we started to explore last Sunday AM service: our spiritual path for 2011 -- home church
Next post will be my notes from the evening service with David and Patricia Earle (who kindly came down from Birmingham to speak with us,) and how they built a home church foundation by doing small things consistently.
Here is the vision for the next 10 years that I want to invite you to get involved with… it's not written on stone tablets and it needs unpacking, and a conversation, but it is what we have on the wall at 43 Lancaster Gate at the moment.
The vision of the Unification Movement UK for the new decade: In 2020, the One True God is present in our nation, in our families and in our relationships. A tipping point of 128,000 families acknowledge God's active presence in their lives and pledge their love for God, Nation and Family every day. They bring joy to God by practicing a life of service and care for others in their family, community, and workplace.
The mission in a sentence (how we go about making it happen…) Teaching people how to discover their divinity and purpose by reaching out in loving service.