True Community?????
On this past Saturday my wife, daughter Mindy, & I traveled 5 hours one way to be at Geo & Bonnie’s all day lamb & chicken roast. I went because it is seldom I get the chance to be with all the contributors at Boldgrace. We were all there plus a lot of people I have never met. John T and his wife traveled from Canada just to be with us and enjoy this great day. We had some great food and great discussions about life. Some of the discussions centered around the freedom that those of us at Boldgrace are experiencing as a result of believing God is perfect as well as his plan. Needless to say some of the Christians who attended who are still heavily involved in the organized church took issue with our beliefs and yet we were able to eat and drink together with a spirit of joy and acceptance, (at least I felt that way).
I have only one question to ask our readers and I truly want people to respond. Here is the question:
What’s stopping us from being the community of God’s children? And when I say "US" I’m talking about the entire human race.
At this gathering there were beer drinkers, smokers, couples who lived together, some who cussed, some who judged harshly, some who ate to much, some who talked to much, some who were full of love, and others who were bitter………..and the list goes on & on because this gathering simply represented the human race. And yet, we all got along.
I personally think we all got along, even though there were great differences because Geo & Bonnie had provided an environment where everyone felt welcomed and accepted just the way they were and they knew it. Show me a church that will allow that kind of a community and I will join.
The organized church has utterly failed at true community. Most of the time people who attend church can never really let their hair down and truly be themselves with out fear of judgment. I can say that I really loved being with those people this past Saturday (and there were a number of conservative christians present, but I was able to enjoy them because I was completely and fully myself……and that could never happen in church.
Well, anyway, that’s just my take on it. I would love to hear how others feel about what TRUE COMMUNITY IS?
To Geo & Bonnie, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING WHO YOU ARE…….NOTHING MORE & NOTHING LESS, JUST CHILDREN OF GOD WHO UNDERSTAND THEY ARE PERFECT.
To all who attended Saturday:
It was a privilege to have all of you here. I cannot put into words the human emotion I feel when we have these get togethers. It is at these gatherings I can truly see that we are living in a time of change in the world. People are starting to awaken to the message that if there is a God then she/he is an accepter or all regardless of what they believe about him/her. I am in total agreement with Cliff in that if there was a church that offered what we experienced Saturday then I would be one of its attenders.
To all who did not get to attend Saturday:
We missed you and hope in the future you too can come and share life with us.
Thanks again to all who come here to Bold Grace. Your contribution here is greatly appreciated. And always remember we above all hope you to be free to be you. As Cliff said nothing more nothing less.
Peace
Geo
Sounds beautiful!
“Oh, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away.” (George Elliot)
Wow Connie…………….I loved that.
“What’s stopping us from being the community of God’s children? And when I say “US” I’m talking about the entire human race.”
I believe the only thing stopping us is… us. Not necessarily a church structure or even Satan (I won’t get started on that one).
We as people push other people away, and draw lines for who’s in and who’s out of our circle, based on our own insecurities. The more insecure I get, the smaller my circle gets and the more I find fault with everyone else so that I can feel some artificial pride about myself.
The churches of my childhood did help perpetuate this some by teaching a warped view of humility. They often spoke about how we are worthless, sinful, ugly… instead of how beautiful and perfect the people around us already are. Now I understand that humility doesn’t mean I think I’m a piece of dirt. It means I think you are good stuff.
As you already know, it’s all tied to our picture of ourselves, which is the message of BoldGrace.
Well said Redlefty!
What’s stopping us? Fear. Anxiety. Ego. Pride. Selfishness. Desire for power and control. Our false selves.
We can (will and do) experience true community and hospitality when we awaken to our interconnectedness and oneness — just as you illustrate. Thanks!
I think this kind of gathering was a great success as well as obviously a lot of fun, with the sense of community being real simply because there was no one judging the other. Everyone was accepted just as they are which is how it should be. None there or anywhere else for that matter, are perfect or imperfect by what they do or not do. They (we) are all perfect because they (we) are all in Him and that is where perfection comes in. Wish I could have been there.
Roy, Sorry about your comment going to spam. Thanks for e-mailing me, I sometimes forget to check the spam filter.
What a joy it was to see everyone! Cliff, Nancy, Mindy, Geo, Bonnie, Steve, Bev, John, Denise, Judy, and all the wonderful new friends we met! Times like those are legendary, and will remain in my memory forever! My only regret is that all of our Boldgrace friends couldn’t come. I’m not sure my heart could handle that much joy and excitement, but I’d love to give it a try!
Great thanks to Geo and Bonnie, who opened their home and hearts to us all. I know how much work it is to host an event like that, and the huge expense involved… you guys are wonderfully loving, and that love shines through in everything you do and say! THANK YOU!
I hope to have the pictures up in the next day or two. This time, I’ll include the names of the folks I know.
This gathering was wonderful. NO PRESSURES. It was relaxing because Geo and Bonnie naturally take any pressure away by being themselves. They did provide a place where everyone could be themselves and I want to say thank you soo much for all that you did. I felt at home.
Steve, Bev, Bruce and Judy,
I am so happy that I got to see all of you. It was really great to finally meet you Steve and your wife Bev!! I wish all of you the best and can’t wait until we see each other again
I did want to tell Bonnie that breakfast was wonderful so thank you. Their are NO judgements with you and Geo. You have such a great outlook on life. I swear you two are always smiling and it is refreshing, but even more refreshing to hear you talk about life. I enjoyed it a great deal.
John T. and Denise,
You both have soo much to say and are full of life!! You both are going to do such great things. I am happy I got to meet the two of you and I was totally impressed you made the trip. I didn’t think you were serious about coming. It was nice to be wrong!
Vince and Ernie,
If you are out there I just want to say that I hope I get a t-shirt for being pepper proud now. I am a part of the club now, right??
Nancy and Cliff (Mom and Dad),
You amaze me. I had such a great time with you two. At moments I forgot I was with my parents and felt like I was with my best friends. I am glad I got to go.
Love you lots!
Bev and I had a wonderful time with you all…..as always. Too bad I had to work the whole night before and was too tired to stay longer.
It was especially sweet to meet my friends Cliff, Nancy and Mindy for the first time. You guys are even more fantastic than I imagined and I can’t wait to spend more time with you and get to know you better. And Bev felt the same way. She loved sharing the afternoon with both Nancy and Mindy. Are you guys sure you wouldn’t consider moving a few hundred miles east? Bev and Nancy could be even greater friends if distance was less and I would love seeing Cliff on a regular basis. Mindy, your kind words about my writings were so humbling and encouraging. You guys are truly kindred spirits with us.
Also it was so good to meet and share with John and Denise. You guys too are such nice people and I hope to see you again soon. Denise, Bev loved your “up front” personality. John, I loved your Canadian beer.
The rest of the many friends of George and Bonnie in attendance are all great folk and I love and appreciate Al’s cooking and hard work. If it wasn’t for having such a short time to spend with our friends we could get to know you all better. Maybe next year we will have to take the offer from George to spend the night and then we can have more time to mingle.
Our times with George and Bonnie and Bruce and Judy are always well worth the drive and the high-lites of our life. Only times with our children and grandchildren are as treasured. Now we have others that we can be just as excited about sharing our lives with. Love ya all my friends. We so appreciate you and we so appreciate our common Father and his Spirit in you all.
May boldgrace continue to flow to and from you all to all around you.
Hello All
I just wanted to say for my Wife and I, that we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at Bonnie and Geo’s Barbecue. We met many wonderful people and hopefully have made some friends for life. Also for myself I had chance to listen to many great ideas on God and our relationship with him/her. I hope to expand on some of my experiences in a future blog. Of course thats if I can convince the powers that be to let me write another blog
God bless
John and his better half Denise
Sounds like a great communal gathering - and like something I would’ve thoroughy enjoyed - I just enjoy real people being real people.
I think what Cliff is blogging about is what reality in the Christian world should look like - I’ll bet we deal with problem areas in our lives a lot more constructively if this was the single mold we used. I love honesty and real people - that type of acceptance just leads to great things!
It’s the type of community I desire to see in my own life - and have found to some degree…it’s correct to say we don’t find this in church circles - where people truly desire a connection with one another and with God. That’s what drives me to make access for more people in the streams of faith we talk about - to see a wider inclusion and less exclusion…exclusion being a damned waste of my time.
Congrats on building something good guys - I can’t see why more people wouldn’t want to be part of what you talk about and do - it’s very wholesome and needed as part of becoming a whole person.
“”The greatest sweetener of human life is Friendship. To raise this to the highest pitch of enjoyment, is a secret which but few discover.”
–Joseph Addison
I think we found the secret here at BoldGrace
I will always hold out some hope that we as humans will continue to work toward TRUE COMMUNITY whether it’s within the church walls or outside them. I want to be a person who will encourage the FRIENDSIP that Mindy quoted with every single person I meet and with all those who visit our site. I don’t look at anyone as a church goer or non-church goer, I look at each person as a fellow traveller trying to find their way and I always want to be a light for them rather then darkness. Godspeed to ALL.
So, guys, where was my invite?
What’s up with that?!
Dang! I knew we forgot to send someone an invite. Now we know who it was! Sorry, Graham! Maybe next time?
I’m glad to hear the gathering went well. I agree that many of us lack true community. I have very few people I can honestly be myself around. That’s what I love about this place. I can be myself without judgment and I’m learning to accept others for who they are instead of who I think they should be.