​Before Our Savior is a place or organization, we are Jesus’ spiritual family.

Because I am adopted, I’ll explain what I mean through my personal lens.

My name was Naum Kyoo Park. I was physically brought into the Bayer family in August of 1983. At that point, I was introduced, connected, and bonded with friends, grandparents, cousins, an existing family history, and a future together. I was “part of the family” in almost every sense of the word.

Then, through an immigration process, I legally became their son. I have a new name. I have official documentation. It’s a totally new identity in every sense of the word. At that point, I was recognized by governments, states, and schools as a legitimate part of the Bayer family.

In other words, before I was recognized as a part of the family, I experienced family... I participated as part of the family… I became part of my family’s history and their future together. All of that was in place before I was publicly recognized as part of the family.

I think this is a helpful way of thinking about what church family membership means for us. We’re already part of Jesus’ spiritual family. We already experience family (that’s grace!). We already participate in the family (that’s faith!). We are already part of God’s greater story (that’s the scriptures!). Becoming a church family member means that we now choose to be publicly recognized as part of the family. It's a public acknowledgment of what and who we already are and becoming. While there is no spiritual legal requirement to be a member of a church, this declaration of belonging brings a deeper sense of belonging to the family of God.

Want to learn more? Join me and our incredible team for our next New Member Class beginning on Sunday, April 24th.

In the meantime, drop me a note and let me know what being a church family member at Our Savior means to you - or any questions you have about it.

In just a few weeks, we’re going to take a specific walk with Jesus from Bethany to Jerusalem.

We will move through the Upper Room and Garden stopping by Pilate’s and Herod’s before taking 400-600 steps down the Via Dolorosa (the Way of Suffering that Jesus walked to the cross).

​Regardless of your feelings about CNN, they produced really helpful video that helps us see this walk with our own eyes.

Commit to walking.

• Wherever you are, set aside April 10-17 as days you will walk with Jesus in a special way.
• Thankfully, Jesus’ walk doesn’t stop at the cross… it goes through a borrowed tomb, out into a new garden, through different rooms, and into our hearts and lives, everyday. Check out ways to walk with Jesus from Bethany to the New Garden at oslc.com/easter.

  ​Center your heart.

• Set aside some time to read John 11-20.
• Put yourself into the story as an observer of these events. What do you notice yourself thinking about and feeling as the story unfolds?

Walk with Somebody Else.

• Whether it's through the woods or life, walks are better, together. Nobody walks alone. . . so, who will you invite to walk with, April 10-17?

March is Women’s History Month.

So, I thought it would be fitting to have Danielle Strickland share an inspiring story about how we see Jesus determines how we see others.

After you watch the story, drop me an email. I'd love to hear about which other women are inspiring you to follow Jesus these days.

​You can watch Danielle's entire talk here.
Video Credit: Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Urbana 2018.