The Spirit in Motion
By Nick DeanOne morning while making coffee as part of the welcome team at The Paradox Church, I could almost feel the pulsating churn of the glorifying work that surrounded me. We were like bustling worker bees. Set-up crew members were sweating and moving back and forth while the welcome team was preparing common areas and the worship band set the stage. Alone in the kitchen, I wondered: Why? What moves us to this? Then what felt like a small voice in my head faintly whispered: me.
“The Spirit is present in our subtle inclinations to serve our spouses, do what’s right, read the Bible, love the marginalized, make disciples, and commune with God. He is that renewing presence that says: ‘Choose what is good, right, and true.’” - Jonathan Dodson, Gospel Centered Discipleship
I cherish the Sundays that I get up early to serve our church. Something ethereal happens. The movements of the other partners there seems to warm the environment. Nothing about the building changes, and yet, there is an undeniable difference. We don’t own a building. There is no fixed architectural symbol that identifies us as a church. It’s the people – and more specifically our God, Savior and Holy Spirit – that forms our church. The work done from a cheerful heart and out of joyful obedience warms our meeting place because of the Holy Spirit’s work in each of us.“The Spirit indwells and empowers us to be gospel-centered communities in that fight for communion with God in everyday life,” Dodson writes in Gospel Centered Discipleship.The Holy Spirit is the epicenter of the synergy at The Paradox Church every Sunday morning. Goodness and graciousness poured over Paradox partners compels them to be good and gracious in return. I’m on a journey of uncovering more of the astounding truth and power of the Holy Spirit. Its presence and meaning eluded me for a long time. As I explore and discover, I find deeper meaning in everyday life. If you are longing for a closer connection to the Holy Spirit, I can speak from experience that time spent giving to others has been the most rewarding on my hunt to know the Spirit.Work for the glory of God has a different taste and smell. On Sunday mornings, I help at The Paradox Church because I have joy. I work because it is incredible that I can use my body, hands and personality to worship God and serve the people around me. Working on the Welcome Team is a tangible form of worship and it speaks to a higher authority and greater glory than my 9-to-5 job ever could.It’s easy to walk in and out on Sunday and think the church we’ve been blessed with just happens. But you’d be missing glory. God uses broken people every day at The Paradox Church. Each spirit-drench movement in our church is a glimmer of God’s goodness. Experience this beauty for yourself by volunteering to work on one of the teams. Know this: the work has nothing to do about your skills or your performance. You’ll get more out of serving than the energy you expend. And that’s the paradox about work centered on Christ: He fills us with energy in working for His good. He never tires. He never runs out. Our life’s cup overflows when we pour it out for another.
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:1-5
There are many ways you can get connected and start serving our church. Volunteer and creative teams include:
Set-Up/Tear-DownWelcome TeamAudio/VisualKids CityWorship TeamPhotographyVideographyGraphic Design
To volunteer contact Daniel Reynolds.Nick Dean is a partner at The Paradox Church and a member of The Commons City Group. He writes at bynickdean.com