One Isn't the Loneliest Number

We never grow out of our need to belong
in elementary nightmares of being chosen last for kickball
the first one out in the game of tag, we mope on the sidelines
in junior high cafeterias on the first day of school
we stand frozen, clutching our trays, fearful for our social futures
high school labels stamped on our foreheads
like bad t-shirt logos that still show when you wear it inside out
and we never really grow up
a family, a corporation, a political party
a football team, a Tv show with the power to vote
it all comes down to being a part of something bigger
like a distant, windy memory I have
second grade pen pal cards on helium balloons
all released simultaneously on one . . . two . . . three
and I stood in awe, bonded by the beauty of unity
until Phillip pulled my pigtails and it was back to dog eat dog
there were days that teaching felt like a funeral
for someone still living
Why all the sad faces? Why the lack of hope?
Why all the loneliness in a crowded classroom?
Why can't they catch my joy like the flu that's going around?
But the one lesson they needed was the one
I wasn't allowed to teach
the one truth that could free them
I couldn't force them to understand
through all my clues, leading questions, and clever metaphors
like a word search I just wanted to point to
but they needed to find the answers themselves
but now the gloves are off
the straight jacket teaching contract is null and void
and we are opening a site in their neighborhood
and you better believe I'll be there to welcome them
to the one place they'll never be lonely
the one group where they will always belong
to introduce them to You
the One love they can't find on the map
but they might just find in a movie theater


"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all."
Acts 4:32-33


"Why do we keep the message simple? Because people need Jesus. We're in a real world where real people really need real Jesus. We need real help. We don't need an idea. We don't need a philosophy. We don't need another religion with just more dos and don'ts. We need the risen Christ. And it's not just you and me. It is every man, every woman, every boy and girl. We need Christ. So why we do what we do is pretty simple . . . And what is my heart beating fast for? It is not different from what it was when I first started this church 21 years ago. The difference is now that there are two thousand of us here tonight, and our hearts are all beating fast for one great thing . . . It is that everyone knows Jesus, so no one has to go to bed at night wondering if they matter . . . We are the followers of Christ. We have not been blessed to sit on the blessing and just enjoy the fact that we are the family of God. But we are blessed to be a blessing. And God has called us to go into all the world and make disciples . . . one heart, one soul, one blessing, one great conviction . . . And you say 'Well, what happens if the church grows?' Oh! Well, there's a problem that's enjoyable, isn't it?" Mark Beeson, "One Church Where You Are" New Community service 3/13/2008