Pushing Through the Awkwardness

Written by Lindsay King

We are more connected than ever, yet we feel more alone than ever. Social media promises connection if we will share our lives, so we do. We share, comment, and keep scrolling. We have hundreds of “friends,” but no one to call in an emergency. The COVID-19 Pandemic has made our disconnection even worse. We can have our groceries delivered, attend church, put in a full day’s work, and complete a workout without actually talking to someone.

The human condition is that we desire to be fully known, truly loved, and living in purpose, as Pastor Lawrence often reminds us. We are made for connection, for relationships. This connection, this friendship that we so desire, is hard, especially as adults. I look around and see people interacting like they have been friends for years, and I’m jealous. I don’t find it easy to make friends. I want to jump to the part where I’ve known someone for like five years, when the awkwardness is long gone and there is an ease to the relationship.

After graduate school, my husband received a job offer in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We moved, leaving family and friends. God led us to Foothills Fellowship where we felt welcomed from day one. We joined a community group. While they were welcoming, I felt I like I was invading their group. It was awkward and uncomfortable. Becky, a lady at Foothills, told me that she was once the new person and that it takes about three years for the awkwardness to fade away and the relationships to feel like friendship. She was right. About three years later, the awkwardness had disappeared, and the group felt like my friends. This was about the same time that my husband accepted a job that brought us to North Carolina and closer to family and old friends. It took us a while to find Waypoint; but when we did, we knew this is where God was leading us. Once again, we joined a community group. It felt harder this time. Maybe because I didn’t want to join a new group and start all over again. I had finally gotten past the awkward stage with our group at Foothills. I often had to remind myself of Becky’s advice. Once again, she was right. And in time, we moved from awkwardness to friendship with our new group as well.

Ecclesiastes 4:10 says “For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!” Making friends and being a friend is hard, but friendship and true connection is worth it and necessary. There were nights when Becky’s advice was the only reason that I went to community group and continued pushing through the awkwardness and uncomfortableness I felt. There is no short cut to friendship. It takes action, work, and intentionality.

Whether you have just started attending Waypoint or have been coming for years, I would challenge you. If you are feeling lonely, disconnected, and in need of friendship, join a community group! On the nights when it is awkward and hard, remember Becky’s advice. It will not be that way forever. And…if you have lots of friends, please join a community group! Some of us struggle to make friends, and we are in need of your friendship skills.

The Cloth on the Cross

Written by Danny Castiglione

Christ is Risen!

When you walked into the crowded sanctuary on Easter Sunday you might have noticed that a white cloth was draped on the cross. For the six Sundays before Easter a purple cloth was there, and last Friday and Saturday, a black cloth. That white cloth will remain for six Sundays and then be removed, and we will not place another cloth on the cross in the sanctuary until next February.

Why do we do this?

The tradition of draping the cross or following “The Stages of the Cross” as a symbolic depiction of the Easter season, goes back hundreds of years in Church history. We practice it at Waypoint because we believe it annually provides us with a visual way to reflect on and remember the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus.

What do the colors mean?

There are typically 3 colors used by the local churches that practice this tradition: purple, black, and white. The purple cloth represents Christ as King, reminding us that Christ is our Savior and King, and we are mere mortals saved only by his grace and mercy. The purple cloth remains on the cross from Ash Wednesday to Maundy Thursday (this is the season of Lent). The black cloth represents the mockery, suffering, crucifixion, and death of Christ. The black cloth remains on the cross from Good Friday, through Holy Saturday (the day Jesus was in the grave). The white cloth represents the resurrection of Christ. The white cloth remains on the cross from Easter Sunday through Ascension Day when the cross remains bare until next Lenten season.

How can we use this tradition in our own worship and reflection?

As you enter the sanctuary over the next five weeks, look up at the white cloth on the cross. Take some time to reflect on the beauty and glory of the Resurrection of Christ. Think about the 40-day period it represents, when the risen Jesus walked on the Earth teaching and loving his people, preparing them for the coming of His Holy Spirit.

Then after Ascension Day (May 26), each time you look at the empty cross, give praise to God that the risen Jesus has ascended and is seated at the right hand of God the Father, reigning over the Earth. Praise the Father and the Son for sending the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us, His Church, as we worship Christ and build His Kingdom!

“This is the church of the living God, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth.

16 Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith:

Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and announced to the nations. He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory.”

1 Timothy 3:15b-16 (NLT)

What is a church?

Written by Ben Uthe

It is fascinating to think that throughout the centuries and in many different cultures this question has been answered very differently. For some church is gathering in secret by candlelight because their local government could arrest/harm them for doing this publicly. Some gather with 10,000 other people in a massive auditorium normally used for concerts or sporting events. All these people are “going to church.” In the Old Testament the place where God's presence dwelled had very detailed specifications and was limited to a particular place. Now God's presence is not limited to a tabernacle or the ark of the covenant. His presence dwells in every true follower through the Spirit given at conversion. In stark contrast to the elaborate OT temples, churches now meet in old, abandoned warehouses. How is this possible?

Some churches dance, clap their hands and sing loudly. Some of them sit in silence until the Spirit provokes someone to say something. Some churches have a culture of people wearing the best outfits they possibly can. Others show up in jeans and a t-shirt. There are hundreds of other differences that could be listed but at the end of the day all of these places are attempting to do the same thing-worship God. So it begs the question, what is a church?

At the end of the day the Church is about God and His people. It is about coming together to worship our savior who unites us. It's about a family of adopted brothers and sisters coming together to be a family. One of the best examples of what a church is intended to look like comes from the book of Acts in chapter 2:42-47. It reads “42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe[a] came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

These early believers were devoted. That word always sticks out to me. They were not going to leave if the music was not to their liking. Not only were they devoted to the apostles teaching but they were devoted to each other! They spent time together. They went to church together. They spent time in their homes together. They shared meals together. They shared the gospel with their communities together. They met needs as they arose. This is what church looks like! Sharing time and our lives can feel so costly and demanding at times if not near impossible. I am fearful that much of our ideas in America in 2021 about what church is are very far from these realities Luke lays out. Certainly, we should think about picking a church that has good theology, teaches the bible and is active to be on mission in their community. There are good and right criteria to sort through, but it has become far too easy to be so picky. To turn the church into a thing that is all about us and our personal preferences. If we don't like this one, we will find another down the street that caters to our agenda more. How did we get here?

One of the big observations from this is the main thing we are committing to in a church is the people! This is the local gathering of other Christians in our context. We are all citizens of another kingdom and are exiles here in this land. We gather to push one another towards Christ and towards his purposes for our lives and to fulfill his mission in our communities. My prayer is that when people think of a church we think about the book of Acts. I pray that we would think about a group of people who are devoted. They are devoted to the Lord and one other. They are committed to spending their lives together even though it is much easier not to. They are committed to sacrificially caring for other people around them because they are members of the same family. They are committed to doing gospel ministry in their city and see the Lord work in and change people's lives. This is what church is. It is not an event. It's not something to criticize. It's a local family to belong to.