Something Near and Dear to Me

It's Saturday morning, and my heart is full. Thanks, largely, to God, and His beautiful people at the Austin House of Prayer. Let me tell you a little about them.

Every Friday evening, we gather for a meal. Everyone brings something to share, and we sit and fellowship, talk and tell stories. Sometimes we have a skit from the kids or a brief teaching from a community member, a few announcements about events coming up or reports of what God is doing in the city or abroad. Then we clean up. At 7:30, we go into the prayer room, where the band is singing some worship songs. We sing, we worship, we pray.

Doesn't sound that remarkable, put that way. But it is.

A lot of times, I walk away from church or spending time with Christians with this thought: "I want to be a better Christian." I walk away from AHOP with a different feeling: "I want to love Jesus more." Suddenly it's not about doing stuff to convince God and myself that I'm sincere. It is, quite simply, about loving God, the first and greatest commandment. That is the essential foundation.

After years of convincing myself I was strong and unwavering enough to not be influenced by the people I hang out with, I've given up. I always tend to become more like the people I call my friends. When I found the people at AHOP, I knew I wanted them to be my friends, because they had something I wanted. They had pure, simple, passionate love for Jesus. They radiated it. You didn't have to worship with them to know it--it was evident in so many other ways. They are my role models. Now, one of the highlights of my week is bumping shoulders with these people as we wash dishes and talk about life.

I have learned a lot worshiping with them. They are comprised of Christians of many denominations, and for the first time, I witnessed a people draw together by their love of God who did not care about petty theological differences. Their heart is for reconciliation among churches. There's such beauty in the myriad of ways that people worship, and the open, accepting atmosphere there is uniquely precious. Though I hope it's unintentional, I feel like a lot of churches often give the vibe that they're pretty sure they have a monopoly on God, and that their way is (obviously) the correct way. That's so not true. Among the people I look up to most are several Catholics, a couple attending an Anglican church, and some of your non-denominational protestant types. The wonderful thing? They're not trying to convert each other. They're just spurring one another on to love God and love people.

There's so much freedom in their times of worship. Some people dance. Some sit. Some kneel. Some stand. Some draw or write on the walls in the back. There's a wonderful sense that your expression to God is just as valid as anyone else's. I love it. And unless I'm mistaken, God loves it too. I'm definitely under the impression that He spends a lot of time there. I, at least, have met Him there on many occasions.

If you are reading this and are from AHOP, let me say I am profoundly thankful for you and your influence in my life. Thank you for accepting us exactly the way we are. And if you're willing to put up with us, I'd love to find more times to hang out.

If you're not from AHOP and want to see for yourself what I'm talking about, come on down and join us. Fridays at the Seabrook Center, 2830 Real Street. (Not a fake street.) Dinner starts at 6:15. Bring some food to share.