Reconnect, Recommit, Rejoice

This last week the Committee on Ministry of Grace Presbytery called and asked me to moderate the session of Central Presbyterian Church in Waxahachie. Their pastor, Rev. Anna Whitehead, is leaving to move to Alabama and they need someone to step in until such time as an interim can be found. It doesn’t take much, just one extra meeting per month, and it does give me the blessing of getting to see how another church works and conducts its business.

The first meeting I attended was Thursday evening. I was privileged to see a church dream. The session has been asked to create a vision statement, something that says what they feel God is calling them to do and be in the corner of the world where God calls them to minister.

Unfortunately, most times these statements are written simply to meet the requirements to get the church’s Church Information Form (CIF) circulated through the denominational channels. It rarely sees the light of day and is not generally implemented when the new pastor arrives on site.

How sad! To wrestle with the Almighty as Jacob did beside the river and to finally catch a glimpse of ultimate glory, only to leave it sitting in a filing cabinet along with old financial statements, meetings notes, letters of transfer, and previously paid utility bills.

All of us are the people of God trying to understand the vision and mission intended by the work of God to minister to the world God created. Once we find that vision, when we have a word from the Lord, we should move forward with determination. This isn’t true only for churches going through the process of filling out forms to find a new pastor. This should be the goal for each and every church each and every day.

This Sunday of Reconnect, Recommit, and Rejoice is something that we should pursue as a vision beyond a program for a single Sunday. We should be about seeking continual connection, transformational commitment, and enthusiastic rejoicing. As we are striving to do that we live out the call of Christ in our lives.

It is back to church, back to basics, restart Sunday. It is the time we ask ourselves, “If we could transform our church into anything we want, what would it be?” It is also the time we ask the follow up question, “Realizing that God gives us the grace and power to transform ourselves and our church into that which we dream it to be, why haven’t we already done it?”

It is time to heed the command to the Israelites and get up and move forward. They almost chose to stay still, cursing the darkness but refusing to light the candle of God’s grace. May we move more quickly to respond!

Pastor Craig