community beginnings

got a phone call early yesterday morning. i tend to expect someone in crisis with early morning / late night calls. thankfully, not this time. it was someone in the church who works for u of m with a chance to score tickets for the michigan - hawaii NIT basketball game. 9:00 tip off, so i can make it after my evening meeting. suffice it to say, really looking forward to going with him tonight. in a small but powerful way, these kinds of relationships are a meaningful indicator of health in a church. obviously, the big stuff matters: visiting people when they are sick, bearing each other's burdens, serving Christ together, praying and worshipping together, being there when the rubber meets the road in each other's lives. but i think a lot of that is the fruit of relationships that grow from the little stuff. at the very least the little stuff functions like glue, or grease, depending. i'm praying that people throughout the church are sharing their lives together this way. we'll be so much more ready for the big stuff when it comes along if we're enjoying the little stuff together.