Redemption Groups: Reflecting on the Process
We’ve asked a Redemption Group participant to blog their experience anonymously through our Fall 2014 cycle. Ultimately, the purpose is to bring glory to God for the good work He is/will be doing in the participant and others (Psalm 107).
It's hard to sit down and try to describe, in a decent amount of words, the process and breakthroughs that take place in the ten weeks of Redemption Groups. Stringing words together in attempts to explain to you how conviction hits or how repentance feels is an overwhelming task, even for a writer who loves to, well, write. I will tell you that I cannot look away from the beauty and kindness of God to show us our weak hearts, covered in sin, and realize that he leads us to clear vision because he wants to show himself. He showed himself strong over the weeks of meeting and processing with others, he showed himself tender as he proclaimed his great nearness and he showed himself glorious as he boasted in his deliverance for people's suffering.
"I cannot look away from the beauty and kindness of God to show us our weak hearts, covered in sin, and realize that he leads us to clear vision because he wants to show himself."
Perhaps the most glorious aspect of the process is that it happens in the context of relationships. Week after week, I walked away amazed at the stories these beautiful women would share. Abuse. Death. Broken relationships. Sin against people. Sin against God. Opportunity for bitterness. Opportunity for forgiveness. Ultimately a willingness to bring their ugly pieces of life into a circle of women and let others speak into the struggle. It was a pure honor to hug these women and love them, see them at their worst, cry the same tears, and allow each of them to making a lasting impression on my heart. It was perfect for something that was so imperfect. It was a revelation of God's vision for his people.
"My heart softened for the people at The Paradox in a way that humbles me and makes me want to shout in worship to our King. The body of Christ is beautiful."
Community and family should be interchangeable words in the body of Christ. Family is messy. Community is diverse. Family is long-suffering. Community is commitment. Family is a refuge. Community is a lifestyle. Redemption Groups gave me an honestly new way of relating to people and walking alongside them in their suffering and rejoicing as we all confessed our sin. My heart softened for the people at The Paradox in a way that humbles me and makes me want to shout in worship to our King. The body of Christ is beautiful.
"Then our mouth was filled with laughter,and our tongue with shouts of joy;then they said among the nations,'The Lord has done great things for them.'The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad."Psalm 126:2-3