Our Dec 18th gathering

Friends,

Our December 18, the Lead Like Jesus Together gathering will be “extra special” as we will start with a time of fellowship and food from 7:15-7:45 a.m. featuring Breakfast Pizza and other breakfast goodies.  The idea is for this gathering to be a time of celebration and reflection on the blessings of the relationships that have begun and strengthened during 2024. 

The “year-end letter” below about Lead Like Jesus Together was written by Fritz Kling and shared with you by the LLJT leadership team.  May you find it encouraging and inspirational.                                                                                                   

If I were writing a year-end letter to Lead Like Jesus Together—it might go something like this:

What amazing gatherings Lead Like Jesus Together had this year!   Although folks didn't always know each other well, a sense of intimacy and warmth has developed. Do you think it’s maybe because we’re Christians? 

Want diversity?  We've got it!  There are lots of older folks... and we’re getting more younger ones. There are men and women... blacks and whites and different ethnicities... and after all, isn't that God's preferred picture?

The world is built around partiality.  We're not.  There are people who run leading Richmond organizations, and people who were invited by a friend of a friend.  It’s not a title-based group, but relationship-based.

We are a rare organization that isn't seeking to build its own power:  that's because we exist to empower and lift up another organization—the local church.

Lead Like Jesus Together is designed to be accessible and welcoming.  We are informal, and first-timers are just as welcome and important as long-timers. Imagine that ... in Richmond, Virginia, no less!  Scandalous!

It’s hard to know exactly what the group “does” ... but the people up front say that’s not the point.  They say that each month we’re "working out together"— getting in our "reps" at love, relationship, and unity.   A body's muscles, tendons, and ligaments can't be "microwaved," and we're committed to nurturing the whole Body during our lives.

The relationships fostered through Lead Like Jesus Together are equal parts insurance, faithfulness, ... and fun.  When social justice and pandemic dissension protests impacted US cities, the in-place relationships between RVA churches served this city well.  We are being faithful to New Testament commands for fellowship and unity.  And, we're having fun.

Preliminary Timeline for December 18 Gathering

7:15 a.m.  Breakfast Pizza and Fellowship

7:45 a.m.  Opening prayer

7:50 a.m. Welcome to 1st timers

7:55 a.m. Individual Reflections on past year of Lead Like Jesus Together gatherings

8:30 a.m. Update on Lead Like Jesus Together-RVA portal  (Dan Heneghan)

 8:35 a.m. Closing Prayers

 8:45 a.m. Adjourn.  Merry Christmas!  Next gathering will be held on January 15, 2025 (7:30-8:45a.m.) featuring a discussion of affordable housing and a presentation by LLJT participant Jane Talley, author of Uncle Sam Makes a Poor Baby Daddy.

See you on December 18.