25 Things I've Learned in 2 Years

[Tony] It is incredible to think that we have been doing intentional community in Dayton's Bluff for almost two years now. I couldn't begin to try to recapture everything that we have seen, learned, and experienced while we've been here. For me, the last two years have consisted of some of the most profound and transformational experiences of my life. I have grown immensely from who I was when we started and I'm glad that I've grown enough to now realize how much more I have to learn. Nevertheless, I recently sat down and started a list of some of the most important things I have either learned or experienced over the last two years here at Ekklesiah. This list is in no way exhaustive, but its a start. Maybe I'll follow it up with another one soon enough. But, for now, my top 25:

1.We don't have to “bring” God anywhere, God is already there.
2.Love is incredibly disarming and its power should never be underestimated
3.Whether we think we do or not, we all drag around a large bag of stereotypes and biases
4.Becoming aware of our own biases, stereotypes, privileges, and assumptions can be extremely difficult, sometimes painful, but so worth it!
5.Kids just want to be kids... and so do we, lets go find some chalk!
6.Jesus is desperately in love with homosexuals!
7.Community empowers the individual to accomplish more than they ever could on their own
8. We must learn to love by seeking and learning from the heart of God
9.While we learn to love, we will make mistakes. Part of loving is knowing that we will all make mistakes and that love is most powerful when it keeps on loving through them, unconditionally. People are beautiful, no matter how broken.
10.Church is so much more than a group of people who sing songs and listen to a pastor together on Sunday mornings.
11.We all contribute to the brokenness of our world, lets not be so fast to point our fingers at who is “right” and who is “wrong,” instead, lets accept that we've all contributed to the mess and figure out ways to help each other begin rebuilding
12.My most powerful worship experiences, my most intimate interactions with the Holy Spirit, and my most genuine impressions of “church” have come on the streets with hustlers, dealers, thugs, single mothers, addicts, the poor, the marginalized, and the forgotten. Given the number of times this truth is mentioned in scripture, this should surprise no one.
13.Jesus can throw a party that you will never forget.
14.Together, we actively choose what we want our world to look like
15.Always give God his props, he most definitely deserves it! Glory, honor, power, and praise to God!
16.Prayer matters
17.When Jesus says “bear your cross and follow me” he isn't kidding.
18.Let yourself by “interruptable,” most of the time the Spirit moves in ways that we don't expect. You wont regret it.
19.There is nothing more important than our relationship with God and relationships with other people
20.We desperately need each other
21.We are not called to be extraordinary on our own, we are called to be normal and to acknowledge our weaknesses because it is in our weakness that Jesus turns ordinary into extraordinary
22.Jesus is still alive. The Gospels are still good news. And Jesus is restoring everything- right now!
23.A simple life creates more space to be filled by God
24.God could completely restore the world right now if he wanted to, it is a blessing that we don't deserve that he would rather use us to bring forth restoration through relationships with us.
25.We have no idea what we are capable of as a force of truth, love, and restoration in this world: each one of us is wonderfully and fearfully made. Jesus knows we can walk on water. Most of the time we just don't really believe Him.