"The 710 Church"

“The 710 Church”

During three of my four college years I lived with six fellow students in an off-campus house located at 710 University Place. It was owned by an unmarried lady named Esther Carson (whom we affectionately addressed as “Housemother”) who worked in the dining hall and cared for her 90-something-year-old mother (whom we called “Grandma”). After Grandma died Housemother sold her property to the college and moved to Florida. (The house was later razed to make room for an expansion project.) Years later one of the former “710’ers” looked her up and learned she had a list of all the guys who’d lived in her home and still prayed for us. While she had no children of her own she considered all of us “her boys” and wanted God’s best for us.

Prominently mounted inside 710’s front door was a plaque which said, “Home Sweet Home”. Now that you’ve stopped laughing about how that could be with seven guys living together let me tell you what was in the smaller letters: “Where each lives for the other and all live for God.” For the most part we as housemates sought to observe this biblical principle (“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”—Philippians 2:4) so 710 became a “Home Sweet Home Away From Home.”

This year marks the 50^th anniversary of my graduation which put me in a reminiscent mode. As I thought back to my 710 life as “Home Sweet Home” it dawned on me that it could be changed to “Church Sweet Church—where each lives for the other and all live for God” and serve as a fitting goal for any local assembly. While no church is perfect –remember each one is made up of imperfect people like you and me—as we take our relationship with God and one another seriously we can help move each of our respective bodies towards becoming a “Church Sweet Church”, poised to make a difference in our communities.

What am I doing to produce “The 710 Church”?

Blessings!

Jim McMillan