The Local Church

"One thing I did not have established in my life and neglected was the local church."
-a Christian artist who went through sexual and marriage problems in the early 90's

I believe in the local church. Period. I love the local church. Over the past three years, I have become more and more in love with the art, creativity, and function of the local church. Karen and I for various reason have done various interviews over the last two years. Our faith comes up over and over. It is not our faith according to someone's teaching or singing, but it is our faith which is empowered from the local church. We love the people who are in the local church.
Unfortunately, we meet a lot of people who like a 'talk smack' when it comes to their church. They try to impress you with spiritual language or what a call 'jive.' You can always tell how grounded an individual is in their local church just by listening to them talk. Their cooperation shows also in their walk.
Over the next several weeks, we will be visiting and observing a lot of established churches and church plants to see how they are organized and how they function. We are looking forward to seeing fellow church planters whom we have had the opportunity to meet over the last several months flourish in their local assembly.
If you are not involved in a local church, get involved in it today. You will grow tremendously as a believer!