I am one of those people who has always seen the early church as pictured in the Acts of the Apostles as romantic, winsome, irresistible. This idea that people would literally bring their possessions to the feet of an elder so that the needs of a fellow worshipper could be met runs so counter to how we see life lived around us, one cannot help longing after something so foreign; so free.
This past week I received an email from one of the pastors at our sister church. The week before I had shared with their congregation about some of the things we were seeing God do here in South Central. I had shared with them about the families and individuals who regularly attend our weekly worship services who only speak Spanish. These wonderful folks sit graciously, participating to the fullest extent of their ability, while worship, prayer and teaching unfold around them in a foreign tongue.
As a board, we have been looking into the possibility of purchasing translation equipment that would enable these members to listen with headsets while someone translates the service from the sound board. As a board we have been praying for the means to purchase this equipment, and I shared this with Pasadena Covenant.
After the service, a husband and wife talked together and shared with each other how they had each felt stirred by this need while I was talking, and how both of them had, independently, felt nudged by God’s spirit to make the purchase of this equipment possible. The email I received this last week informed me that this couple would like to make a financial gift to cover the expense of purchasing the translation equipment for our church.
I am grateful and humbled and glad to be in a time and place where the church today can look like the beautiful picture I have spent my life longing to see.