The following post was written by Tracy Mueller. She’s a part of Austin Mustard Seed, a V3 Church Plant that Practices the Way of Jesus for North/Central Austin, Texas.
We republish it here to give you a tangible idea of what a V3 church is like.
“Peace comes when we share our home.”
I’ll be honest – I didn’t catch 100 percent of last week’s sermon. I’m 28-weeks pregnant, have a 20-month-old son, work outside the home full-time, just moved to a new house, and it’s summer in Austin. So, I’m pretty tired.
But. I did catch this nugget he shared:
“Peace comes when we share our home.”
As a hospitality-minded homebody who craves tranquility and reconciliation, I was moved by this notion. I even jotted it down on my phone.
Peace comes when we share our home.
It’s so easy to feel the opposite, isn’t it? Sharing our home – or our personal lives, church community, or even lunch break – can be intimidating, messy, and exhausting. (And I say that not as a token acknowledgement but because I’m a fairly private, introverted only child. I’m all about alone time.)
But throughout various seasons of my life, I have been blessed beyond measure as a result of overcoming the intimidation, shrugging off the mess, and pushing through the exhaustion.
After all, Jesus did not call us to lives of isolated perfection. We are called to invite, include, share, host, contribute. Community cannot be forced, but it most certainly must be actively valued and cultivated.
This is what drew my husband Travis and I to Austin Mustard Seed.
Imperfect people choosing community in order to love God and each other.
We had experienced that beautiful life in another town and were missing it desperately here. To have found it again gave rest to our weary souls.
It requires something of us, too. We have been the recipients of inviting, including, and hosting, so now it’s our turn to share our home, our hearts, our inner lives, our table.
I look forward to the peace that comes with it and hope others can join in.
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