Foundational

My family and I had a vacation together recently. We flew in to Dallas, Texas... got the rental car and headed to Waco, Texas. After a night of relaxation we visited UBC, a church in Waco where David Crowder leads music and worship. It was a great visit to a unique & impacting church. We had fun in Waco which also involved a visit to the Dr. Pepper museum. Yes, Dr. Pepper was invented in Waco...who knew? Then later that afternoon our travels took us to Austin, Texas...one of our favorite cities in the US of A. We hung out by the river downtown, had fun and saw the bats fly out from the Congress Street bridge at sundown...1.5 million of them they say! What a trip eh? My kids loved it! We swam in the pool and visited friends as we gathered for Church reDefined in Austin for 3 days. Its a pastors network we're in for the past 2 years and we meet every 2 months...its an awesome time of relationship and support with pastors from all over the country, from a variety of denominations...some in established churches...some in brand new start ups. Its always a refreshing & encouraging time when we hangout together. After Church reDefined wrapped up on Wednesday, after lunch, my family and I hopped into the old PT Cruiser and headed northeast...destination...Bella Vista, Arkansas! Why you ask? Because its there! LOL. Actually, because a man who has impacted my life more than any other has retired there... my "pastor". It was worth the long drive through Texas and Oklahoma to reach the northwest corner of Arkansas to be with him and his wife for a few days. Was it a detour from our next destination at Lifepoint Church in Longview, Texas that following weekend? Yep, but it was worth it...every moment...every mile. You see Pastor Paul, he's now 78, so a time like this is rare for my family and I to "be with" him...and I want my wife and kids to get a sense of why he has impacted my life so much...as they were "with" him also. We visited other friends in the Bentonville area and had fun...but this was a trip to "be with" Pastor Paul and his wife Bev... and we are so glad we did take the time. Foundational people in life are rare and are to be appreciated as much as possible. This was one of those people and one of those times. I say this to say that life often has "road marks" or "mile posts" or "markers" that we never forget. Much like our vacation trip had road signs, road markers, key signs of remembrance and photo opportunities that made our trip memorable...so does our journey of life. Its amazing how often those "life markers" are manifest in people we have met along the way. In my case...Pastor Paul. Think about it...think about those things that God has used to impact your life the most. Now the "spiritual" among us might say the "churchey" answer...the bible, scripture, God's Word, of course. The "mystical" among us may say in a rather holy tone...its been through prayer and meditation... when I've heard the voice of God whisper. Now I must admit, God does reveal Himself through scripture and prayer...of course He does...but more often than not, the greatest impact on our life has come through another person! A person of faith who was Jesus like. They loved us, encouraged us, pointed us in the right direction, as we journeyed through life...even when the journey was messy. Now those times often felt like God encounters of the real kind. Those are more often than not, foundational to our journey of faith. The impact of one life upon another...when God showed up in the flesh and bones of another...when God's love was manifested to us in a very real way. Think on these things...my hunch is, the greatest impact on your life was a "person"...not a sermon...not a worship song...but the loving, caring, compassionate life of another person rubbing up against your life. In church circles we usually emphasize scripture (as we should) and prayer (as we should)...but we often diminish or even "poo-poo" the impact of relationships...of doing life together. At ECHO we recognize the frequency and impact of doing life together...and how God has used it to touch our lives... and now He desires us to pass it on in a real and tangible way. Jesus with skin on. God's love in the flesh. Grace and mercy experienced in the midst of the messiness of our lives. At ECHO we want to learn to love this way...to trust God this way...to live this way. Its a journey worth taking, lets take it together!

be God's!
Brian O
Lead Pastor dude, ECHO