Thoughts On a Drive From the Airport

On New Year’s Eve, as I drove from the Atlanta airport I heard Bryan Adams’ song, Back in the Summer of ’69. Those of you who know the song probably also remember the line Those were the best days of my life. Granted, not all of the items of a “best day” for a teenager would normally be included among the wisest day(s) of our lives. However, the song got me thinking. What are the best days of my life?

Don’t worry. I’m not going to bore you with a highlight reel, but I am going to challenge you to think about your own best days. I would like to challenge you to dig deeper than those obvious moments many of us would pick. I don’t want to dismiss them. I do want to challenge you to think about what events molded you into the person who was ready for those moments. . .your wedding, the birth of your children, the defining career moment, etc.

Those moments didn’t just happen. They were the series of interconnected events that brought you to a natural conclusion. Maybe it was friends, way back in the summer of 69, or before. Maybe it was a Sunday school teacher or pastor, or someone else who helped develop the character that allowed you to approach one of those moments with faith and confidence. Maybe the moment required strength, maybe it required faith, maybe it deserved celebration, maybe reverence.

The point of this brief writing is to remind you that your loving and compassionate Heavenly Father has known your future from the beginning of creation. He has masterminded creation. He has moved mountains. He has prepared dozens of people along your way, each one with something to contribute to your development.
2013 is past. Some of our choices may have been among the best days of our lives, some of them you might rather forget. Yet, all of those experiences are part of the molding and preparing compassion of the Holy Spirit for the events coming your way in 2014.

Romans 8:28 reminds us, All things work together for good for those who love Him. Yes, there it is. ALL THINGS. Not just the pleasant things, not just the obvious spiritual things, ALL THINGS. Now, I have probably reminded you of some events this past year you would rather have done without if you could. Sorry, but I hope you will take some time to spend with God and thank him for those events, thank him for caring for you and preparing you for the year ahead, thank him for trusting you to handle the difficult things from 2013, and giving you the practice for those events which will challenge you during the year that lies ahead.

Happy New Year


Pastor Craig

Transitions

It seems that 2014 is expected to be a year of transitions. I wish I had kept count of all the E-mails I have I have received in the last few weeks speaking of transitions, and this is only in church ministry! Transitions in the way we do outreach, in the way we do pastoral care, in the way we give, the motivation for our giving, and the emphases to which we give, in how we worship and how our worship services and spaces are designed, and transitions in our own denomination.

It seems we will be changing more than the year we write on our checks in the days, weeks, and months ahead. Time honored traditions we have cherished and protected for years are being modified by future generations, not will be. . . ARE. Those of us who consider ourselves traditionalists will be challenged to accept new things, new ways of being church. We may struggle to find our place and new comfort zone in the “new normal.”

Some of these changes we have already had a taste of in our own congregation. To give you a sample of what folks expect ahead. . .By the way, please read all the way to the end. . .

1. Traditional giving and pledge drives are fading, including tithing.
2. Printed material is harder to come by and more expensive to produce. Say “Hello” to more church websites, including opportunities to give on-line.
3. Affinity groups within churches will center around mission interests rather than age groupings.

Some of you may be wondering, “Do I have a place of this church of the future?” Well, this short article is not about getting you to accept changes that may be charging at us faster than we are ready to receive them.

No, these few words are here as a source of comfort.

Listen carefully. However we do church in the future here is what will stay the same as long as we call ourselves Christian.

1. The Church will be centered on relationships, now more than ever before.
2. The Gospel is still about the saving love of Jesus Christ for sinners.
3. You can follow Christ without following ANYONE on Twitter.
4. It won’t matter whether the words are on a page or on a screen, the people of Christ gathered together will still need your voice to sing God’s praises.
5. Whether we give on-line, physically write a check and put it in the mail, or swipe a card from a digital device, we will still live out our commitment to our Lord as we show it through the giving of our goods.
6. Finally, you will always know that the BEST way to access your Heavenly Father is from the privacy of your own quiet time rather than a blog, on Facebook, or by forwarding a group E-mail.

Maybe, the more things change, the more they stay the same!

Pastor Craig