I hope you have enjoyed the first two installments of this interview. Today I will finish sharing the interview with you. In this last section, Pastor Kelli expands on the need and importance for community in our lives. I hope you all enjoy this continued and final portion!
When I asked how important is it to have people in your life that you can trust, Pastor Kelli responded almost passionately and told me a little story of her own.
“Vital! Without them, you won’t make it. Being by yourself is just not sustainable at all. There’s a story about a pastor who went over to somebody’s house that had been missing from church for a while. He goes into the house and says nothing the whole time. He gets the tongs and picks up one charcoal briquette and places it on the side of the fireplace by itself. Since it is not around the rest, the briquette loses its fire. The pastor places it back with the rest of the briquettes and it catches fire again. The man then told the pastor “thanks for the fiery sermon, I’ll see you next week.” So without the sense of being surrounded by a community, there is no way that you can survive being in ministry. Ministry is not a solo occupation, even if you are in remote areas. Without community, you cannot survive professionally, or individually. God created us to be creatures in community. Without community, there is nothing.”
What is it that community actually does for a person in general?
“In General, it reminds you of God’s love and that you are not alone. Community also has more to do with truth and with being you. You are loved for being yourself. That is a great gift. To be able to share whatever is going on in your heart without any judgement. It gives a great since of hope and presence of love, as well as accountability. It’s a huge trust bond and a huge gift.”
Can you expand a little bit on both corporate and individual time with God and how that tends to play into stress reduction?
“Stress is a time when we are out of balance. So there is more on our plate than what we can do. We are worrying about things in our future that have yet to come to pass. Because we are not ready for them, or we are afraid of them, or because they are just going to be worse than they actually are. Focusing on those things puts us in an out of balance state. In Mathew we are reminded not to worry about tomorrow, because we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. By staying centered and keeping a strong connection to God, we are able to put things in a strong perspective. It reminds us who really is in charge. It’s not us; it is God. That gives us a different perspective on life, a healthy perspective that helps minimize stress.
Through worship, bible studies, small groups, Sunday school classes . . . those kind of things; In corporate connection with God, once again, since we were not created to be soloist, when we sit down and share about the time it was just God and I, and then you share about the time it was just God and you, then we grow closer to one another and closer to God as we are sharing what God is teaching all of us. There might be something that God tells you that might also benefit me and vice versa. Corporate small groups are huge in getting back to community. That trust, and reconnecting with God, and that truth that we are not alone, and that we are loved, and we get to be who God has created us to be.”
Thank you Pastor Kelli, for your amazing insight. I appreciate the encouragement to confide in others, as I have a tendency to process things myself. I hope others feel free to comment and start, or join in a conversation. If you would like to support Elijah’s Tree, the first and most important thing we need is prayer. Please click on the contact us link and let us know you will be praying for us. If you feel called to support us financially, please click on the donate tab. There you will have the option of credit, debit, or sending a check. Thank you all for all of your support. We do appreciate it. And as always – To GOD Be The GLORY!