Dear Redeemer Family,

One of the most frequent things that I hear people say when they move to Richmond and visit Redeemer is that they are looking for (amongst other things) this elusive thing called “Roots.” To the best of my understanding, what I think most people mean when they say this is that they are looking for:

Stability, in a rapidly changing culture and world.
Security, in a hostile and threatening social landscape.
Confidence in belonging, when so many relationships feel transactional.

These are good things. Essential things. Without these, life feels unstable, insecure, and deeply lonely. But how do we get them?

I imagine that a few of us have felt something like tumbleweeds, blown about from city to city, neighborhood to neighborhood, maybe even church to church, in search of a people and a place and way of life that won’t dissolve or suddenly shift under our feet.

There are many ways in which we might seek to slake this thirst, but one of the most clear answers offered to us by Jesus is to make our home in Him through making our home in and amongst His people, the Church.

Let me say that again, slowly, just to be perfectly clear.

We make our home in Jesus through making our home in His people, the Church.

In other words, your average Christian would likely agree with the sentiment of making our home in Jesus. (When in doubt, Jesus is the answer, right?) However, the rub comes when it is suggested that the means by which we do this is by making our home with people as ordinary and uninspiring as church people. And thus so many of us have spent years attempting to make our home in Jesus apart from His local body. This has left many chronically disappointed and discouraged - still longing for roots, but now even less sure that they will ever get them.

On the other hand, there are plenty of us who have never thought to look for Roots in Jesus (that does, after all, sound like a vague spiritual abstraction) and instead we have sought Roots in the American Dream Combo of: City/Neighborhood/House/Career/School/Social Status.

If this is you, I just have one question, “How’s that going?”

The offer on the table (literally) from Jesus is something altogether different, a home in Him through a home within His Church. This is wonderfully simple; so simple that we’re liable to miss it.

It’s as concrete as staying put in one place for a very, very long time.
It’s as dynamic as the relationships with the people in the parish.
It’s as stable as the historic Creeds of the global church.
It’s as secure as God’s love for you in Jesus.
It gives a kind of belonging that cannot be found anywhere else, not even in a nuclear family. Where else do people gather weekly to recommit and pledge themselves in fidelity to one another?
This all leads to a kind of confidence that cannot be found anywhere else - where else can you: know exactly who you are, what kind of story you are in, where you belong, what your purpose in life is, how to grow, and how to love?

So friends, if you’re already a member here, cheers!
I’m so glad we get to put down roots in Christ together as His Church.

If you’re reading this and you’re new, then consider sticking around.
Rent an apartment, buy a home, settle in, make some friends, adopt new habits.

Life can feel inherently unstable, insecure, and lonely.
But when we put down our roots into the life of Jesus in and amongst His people in our own time and place, we can experience a stability, security, and belonging that cannot be shaken.

In the Father’s love,