Renovatus

Throughout one's life, there are these moments of unforgettable spiritual renewal. Moments, that are indelibly etched on the material of our lives. This past weekend was one of those times.

This weekend me, and the awesome staff of NHC, went down and spent some time at Renovatus church in Charlotte, NC. My good friend, Jonathan Martin, has planted this really great church. The church is planted firmly in the heart of the artistic community in Charlotte. Right now, a portable church, that meets on Sunday, but is life-giving and active all the time, and everywhere it can be. I know my friend Jonathan despises labels, and so do I; but Renovatus has found its own niche, and I do mean its own niche. In turn, it has created its own church culture, and its own Christian community. As Jonathan explains it, the church has evolved around the people that have helped make it. Renovatus is more than a brand, more than a vision, more that a mission statement. It is people, a community. A community that acts outwardly as the Kingdom of Heaven itself.

We went to spend the weekend in training with some of his staff. We ended up spending a lot of time with Lisa Koons, a beautiful woman of God. We went for one thing, but strangely enough left with another. Different, yet much more valuable. As Lisa begin to work with the group, it was apparent that she saw something we didn't. In a profoundly prophetical way, she opened us up, and opened up to us. It's one thing to be trained in missiology; its quite another to be trained in spirituality. We dealt with the latter.

I will be the first to admit. Such journies into the depths of the soul are hard! Now I know why Paul rekoned this act of causing the flesh to perish so that the spirit might live as being crucified. There were moments where I wanted to get up and leave, because the challenges were too hard, and the questions required to much honesty. I was purged. We were purged. After lots of tears, and kleenexes, we were lead into a time of prayer and debriefing at the 24/7 Urban Prayer Room.

I can honestly say it was one of the most important spiritual awakenings that I have ever been part of. New life was breathed into NHC. Thank you so much Renovatus. We look forward to having a great relationship with Renovatus. Who knows what might be in store.