Redeemer Christmas Party

The highlight of this past week for me was our Redeemer Christmas Party. We celebrated at Rock-n-Bowl on Wednesday night. Rock-n-Bowl is one of the hidden treasures of New Orleans.....it's an old bowling alley (no electronic score keeping - you do it by hand) with a stage and dance floor. They have live music while you bowl. We decided to make Christmas simple and have the party at there this year.

I've experienced more community at Redeemer than I have any other place in my life. One of my greatest fears as I moved to New Orleans was that I wouldn't have any friends - God abundantly answered that prayer by taking me to this tiny church about a mile from my house. The first Sunday I was there, maybe 40 people were at the service. Redeemer was a small and struggling church before the storm and much of the congregation left after the storm but against all odds, we continue to grow! What I've experienced at Redeemer is real people who don't hide behind the Christian facade but live real lives and deeply experience God. I've been challenged and loved so well through the community of our church.

Since I'm a terrible bowler and my back was hurting from some freaky and torturous position we did in Yoga the night before, I was standing near by our last lane on Wednesday night chatting with people as they arrived. At one point a break in the conversations came and I turned to look at our little crowd. About 40 people had gathered that night. I couldn't help but think that Redeemer is a picture of surviving. The pastor who came said yes to a lesser job (he could have taken a job at a big church in California) and loves New Orleans more than anyone I know. Our church is filled with people who moved to New Orleans to make an impact on the city post-Katrina mingled with a handful of people who were here before the storm and have welcomed us into their city and mentored us in the ways of New Orleans. (I wouldn't know half the things about the city if it weren't for the Moffats). It was such a sweet picture to look out over friends celebrating in this church that had survived the worst natural disaster in our countries history. At that moment Steverson Moffat (one of the folks who was here before the storm) walked up to me. I commented on my thoughts to Steverson and with a big grin on his face he agreed. He said, "I tell Jane (his 13 year old daughter) all the time that we have something special here - having a church like this is rare".

I wonder if I were 13 years old and in Jane's situation if I would realize what an amazing community I able to grow up in. Probably not - I was too self-centered at 13 and would have been looking for the big youth group with tons of conferences to attend. I would want the slick program and the amazing praise band. But now, with almost two decades on Jane, I realize that what we have is indeed rare. Community is more valuable to me now than programs and I am so grateful to experience such an incredible community!