The Journey: A VIneyard Community

In more ancient times, human societies had larger populations of nomads than today. Hunter-gatherers who followed the changing seasons and migration patterns. Pastoral nomads who tended flocks and moved them from one grazing spot and watering hole to another as the seasons and conditions changed. And, in more modern times, peripatetic nomads, moving among settled populations, doing odd jobs, like the Romani in Europe. Some estimate the modern world to still have about 30-40 million nomads.

My life verse, written about several times in my blogs, has been Heb. 11: 8-10. Abram (later Abraham) is the great "Father of Faith". And faith is exemplified in his leaving the security and comfort of home in Ur of the Chaldees. He is called to go on a journey with God. In leaving the familiar and safe, he becomes a nomad, living in tents and wandering through a land in which he was a foreigner and a sojourner.

John Wimber used to say, "Faith is spelled R-I-S-K."

Significantly for those of us who are called to follow Abraham, his entire life became nomadic. He never received the fulfillment of God's promise here--only tokens of it.

As we held our final services for the Walnut Valley Vineyard Church this last Sunday, it has been a major task to get rid of so much accumulated stuff and resume the nomadic journey, like Abraham, "searching for the city with the kind of permanent and solid foundations, whose architect and builder is God Himself" (Heb. 11: 10, my paraphrase).

And my last entry expressed the human grief involved in letting go of stuff.

But there is also joy that comes in obediently following God. I must say that I am excited and energized by the prospect of new beginnings.

And that is why the name of our new church will be "The Journey: A Vineyard Community."

A Final Note:

Thank you to those who read this blog regularly. I will continue to try to post weekly during this transition, although I will be making some changes to the shell as my time permits. As you can imagine, there are so many things to do and they all seem to need to be done right away. I'm just hanging on to His Hand and letting Him do the leading. If you are interested or know of someone in the Brea area who is interested in going on The Journey with us, contact me.