The Upload
Posted on Jun 20, 2014 by
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I pray that you’ve had a blessed week.
Back in March, several of us from Salem attended a leadership seminar. It was a great learning experience and, as part of the learning process, those of us that attended now get to meet with our leadership coach several times through the year to help us learn and adopt new, more effective styles of leadership. As I was talking to my coach this week, she asked me how I was helping the congregation, and myself, to celebrate the many wonderful things we are doing, and after she asked that question, I had to pause and say, Well, honestly, I am not sure we do that very much.
Here at Salem, we often face tough days. This past week, I met with a woman who is having medical issues, one of our members had a family member die, we continue to face significant costs to maintain our old facilities, all the while trying to figure out how we will pay for much-needed facility improvements, and it seems like we are always struggling to get people to volunteer for the work we are called to do. For a mid-sized congregation like ours, there is a lot going on, and it is not always uplifting.
Yet, amid all of this, we keep gathering, we keep asking how we can be active in God’s mission, and in the midst of our frustrations and setbacks, we keep seeking to make a difference in this world. As I thought about this, I came to the conclusion that we do all this because we know we have been created and blessed to live an abundant life found in hope. This isn’t the hope of our secular world, as when we hope to win the lottery and magically have our financial problems drift away. No, it is a hope found only in the reality of Pentecost. It is the hope only found in the reality of the Resurrected Christ.
The Spirit is moving in, around, and through us, and it offers us unexpected opportunities. There is an understanding and expectation that God is doing something here, and that, although bad things will happen, God is always with us and God is always good.
We are able to move forward because, despite any differences, despite our shortcomings and disagreements, and despite our abilities or challenges, we strive to live out our baptismal covenant to love and forgive one another as Jesus loved us first (John 13:34). We don’t obsess about mistakes and program challenges, nor do we fret about political differences. We are seeking to be able to meet people and embrace them as they are (2 Timothy 2:23-26; Romans 12:9-21; Galatians 3:28). We can come to our assembly without makeup or dressed to the nines because we know we are welcomed, known and loved here (Mark 9:36-37). I have witnessed how we live as family, brothers and sisters in Christ, and I and others are encouraged and inspired to believe in Christ all the more.
Tough times will come and go, but the love we share and Christ’s love for us will last forever. So, let’s celebrate and say “Amen,” for we are with Christ!
Have a blessed week!
Shalom,
Pastor Dave