I first heard of the Commons Church when my very dear friend Kristen was asked by some of her college friends to begin praying about being a part of a possible church plant in Fort Worth. Kristen and I are very close friends and in prayerfully walking with her through that decision, I had become very familiar with The Commons Church, its mission, vision, heart, and Pastor. Shortly after The Commons started meeting on Sunday mornings, I told Kristen that I would love to go to church with her, to support her decision to take the risk in ministry that she had by becoming a part of The Commons. I wanted to meet these people that would be pouring into her life, the people I'd been praying for. After just a few hours with the people of The Commons, I was overwhelmed with how well they loved my friend. Little did I know that the Lord would use the church to captivate my heart and lead me to want to take the same risk.
I had been a member of a very wonderful local church for about 4 years. I know that I am loved by the family at that church, and I fully believe that the Lord used my time there - at a thriving, healthy, biblical church - to give me gifts and tools that will greatly benefit a new church. While my church was precious to me, deep community had always been hard for me to come by there. Within a couple of hours with the small congregation at The Commons, I felt enveloped - like I had been dropped right in the middle of my very own little community. There is nothing magical about me or about the people of The Commons, or in what happens when we are together, but in God's providence, He saw fit to "knit us together in love" (Colossians 2:2).
For weeks, I prayerfully sought the Lord about my "crush" on The Commons church. It seemed like I couldn't stop thinking about The Commons, could picture all the wonderful things that we could do together, and I wanted to spend as much of my time as possible with The Commons. I was overwhelmed with how loving The Commons was. In telling people about The Commons, I often find myself saying "they just love people SO well." And it's true. What captivated me most about The Commons was that love for the people of my city. And while my heart has never been excited about world-wide missions, there was something exhilarating for me about the idea of loving & serving the people of my city and being Jesus in skin to the place I have always known as home.
During that time of seeking the Lord, He began to show me that it had become SO EASY for me to sit in the rich fellowship & teaching at the church I was a part of, Sunday after Sunday, becoming spiritually fat, without pouring myself out in service to the Body. He graciously used that time to convict me and stir my heart to step out of my very comfortable church and take risks in ministry for the glory of God and the advancement of the Kingdom. I sought advice from one of my dear friends who moved to Seattle the year before to be part of a church plant. I asked a LOT of questions of Steve, and I prayed and prayed until I knew that for me to NOT take that risk would be disobedience.
Just a few weeks in to my time at The Commons, I began to miss the ease of my very established, very "safe" church environment. But week after week the Lord settles my heart into the people of The Commons and I have no choice but to stay - serving and sacrificing for my church. And the reward is great!
The Commons is a source of great love & joy for me - I am learning so much about the way that Jesus served the unlovable and poured himself out for the sake of salvation. It has been so fun to be a part of such growth - where lives are being transformed and families are building theological foundations. It has been rewarding and delightful to be a part of that kind of construction. From the very beginning the Lord put a song on my heart that has often been my prayer as I walk through this journey with The Commons:
"I wanna know your beauty,
to hold it here in my hands.
Oh Lord, if only I could make my road look like your road,
If I could love the way you love...
I wanna place my feet where the wounded walk,
and where you learn to love no matter what the cost"
My prayer for The Commons has been and will continue to be that we would know the beauty of the Lord & love the way that He loves no matter what the cost.
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