Grounded: The Holy Catholic Church - Galatians 5:13-25 - Walt Quick

Determining whether or not to become a member of a church is not about finding the perfect church. It just doesn't exist. And if it did, let's be honest, if you joined, you'd ruin it. Because there's no perfect people either. But it's an opportunity to discern what imperfections you're willing to say yes to anyway. Now, unlike many churches, hope does not have an official membership policy or process. We're just not structured quite like this. However, my encouragement to you is that you do the work of discerning whether or not this is a community that you can make a real commitment to, that you can go all in on. [00:33:40] (47 seconds)  #CommitOverPerfect

You know, again, I go back to this question of like, oh, do we become, how do we get more of this fruit of the spirit? And we might try to, like everybody would want to say, just about, I'm assuming, everybody, speaking a universal language. Right? Like, yeah, we'd like to be more loving, more patient, more kind, more gentle. Like, I think everybody would probably be down for that. we need to understand that these are inherently relational fruits. Inherently relational things. And we only grow in them by experiencing the friction of real relationships. Relationships that are going to test us. [00:20:37] (41 seconds)  #RelationalFruit

But here's what I've come to believe. That if we participate in the life of the church, because we want the people, our pastors, to provide something for us, then we're missing the point. If our only concern, if our primary concern is gaining spiritual content, getting friends, getting opportunities to serve, right? Good things, though they are. If that is why we're showing up to get something for ourselves, then we're ultimately going to be left disappointed. Because while those aren't bad things, they all begin with people. [00:17:19] (43 seconds)  #NotJustForMe

But when we say I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, and the communion of saints, we're beginning with the work of the Spirit. And we acknowledge that the church and the people within it exist, and live and move and breathe because of the work of the Holy Spirit. And so when we show up to church, we're not showing up because we believe in the power of people, we show up because we believe in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. And when we gather on Sunday, really any time, but especially on Sundays, we're coming together not to kind of like tick a social box. [00:18:05] (41 seconds)  #SpiritFirst