The church saved my life. Well, to be accurate, God saved my life. But he used the people of a church to do it.
I grew up around church, but it wasn’t until I was seventeen that I walked through the doors of a church on my own terms. I was wrestling with a four-year addiction and had a looming sense I was going to either go crazy, die, go to jail, or get some help.
Thankfully, I found my way to a small eclectic group of people in the church who met to encourage one another, learn and grow. They accepted me for who I was. They challenged and coached me. They prayed for me. They showed me what it looked like to face life’s challenges with faith. Nobody in this group was super popular, cool, hip, or trendy. Nobody was perfect. And none of that mattered, because they loved me for me.
The church building, style of music, band, and teaching all played a part, but it was God using everyday people that made the difference. It is always God and people who make the greatest impact.
Since that experience, I’ve dedicated my life to helping others find hope and healing in God through the community of people called the church. I’ve seen my story repeated thousands of times as people experience life change in the context of relationships with others. I’ve witnessed marriages restored, destructive habits overcome, the freeing power of forgiveness, and the healing of hurts as strangers become friends with a common faith. I’ve learned that I need more than a personal relationship with Jesus, I need a shared relationship with Jesus. That shared relationship is where joy is maximized, hope is fueled, accountability is increased, and growth occurs. The shared relationship is where I’m able to find help facing my problems and offer help to others. Most important, it is where I realize I’m not alone.
Life is too hard to face alone. Nobody should have to sit in a hospital waiting room alone, or go through depression alone, or face the joys and challenges of parenting alone. Nobody should have to stand at the grave of a loved one alone. We need each other. And God has specifically placed communities of people, the church, to be that support network.
We can experience God in many ways. We can experience his presence in nature, music, the arts, work, or achievement. Yet none of these pathways comes close to how we can experience God’s presence in community. It is people who are created in God’s image. The most distraught, broken-down, hurting person is more beautiful than the most incredible ocean sunset or snow-covered mountain. Only people share the image of God. Sometimes people can drive us crazy, and often people are the problem. Yet in God’s economy, people are also the solution.
This is what I love about Better Together. Rusty is a trusted voice that has not only helped untold numbers of individuals, but has done so with humility and grace. He’s a rare leader with talent, character, and integrity. And he is a brilliant communicator, which comes through in his writing—brutally honest, hilarious, self-deprecating, insightful, and true. He points the way to what real friendship and community look like. He shows from his own life, and from the Bible, how we can learn and grow together.
We really are better together. Together we can laugh and cry, learn and love, persevere and endure. Together we can work to bring a little bit of heaven to earth for others. Together we can become the people God created us to be. Better Together shows us the way.
—Jud Wilhite, Senior Pastor of Central Church, author of Pursued