February 15, 2018
At the Annual Congregational Meeting last Sunday, I offered a few words and short phrases to describe where we are as a congregation as we begin 2018 together.
–We are Better Than We Have Been in a Long Time is the first one. God is at work at CTR, we have every reason to move into the future with confidence and faith.
–We are Blessed. God has been good to us in blessing us with people who love the Lord, a staff that is doing exceptional work, a real church facility to meet in, and the opportunity to continue making a difference in the lives of people. We are further blessed in having love and unity in the Spirit, and this is no small thing.
–We are Growing. We have grown in numbers, but we also have been growing up (Ephesians 4:15) as we have focused on increasing our capacity for effective ministry. In 2017 we got better organized administratively on a variety of levels. Increasing our capacity for effectiveness extended into work with ministry leaders and TLT. These efforts in increasing our capacity for effective ministry will continue in 2018.
–We are Changing. I mentioned two transitions that I have spoken of before.
The first is the transition from survival into thriving ministry. I think this change is nearly complete and need not be mentioned any longer. Real progress!
The second transition is from serving into sharing Christ. Progress here is slower, but that is okay. Just as it took us several years of the long obedience of IITB to learn what it is to serve Christ and others, it will likewise take years for us to learn how to joyfully share him with others. I am not giving up (you may have noticed) and I ask you not to give up either!
–We are Hopeful. God is in our midst, God is at work among us and doing is something here. God is not through with us yet. We know it, we sense, it, and we give thanks to God for it! We look to the future and what is ahead with a new hope.
–We are Fragile. The fragility is a proper humility in knowing we are not over the hump and have a long way to go. We acknowledge the positive changes underway are not set in concrete. Now is the time to take the hope we have and translate that into vision, energy, ministry and service moving forward.
2-4-10
In a little over a month, CTR will celebrate ten years as a congregation. The past ten years have been marked by God’s faithfulness to us in spite of the struggles we have faced at times. And look at the many great things that have been formed and accomplished over these past ten years!
What will our next ten years be like?
-Think of all we have been through, all that God has done in us and through us over these past ten years.
-Think of where we are at this moment, and all the good things mentioned above.
-Imagine what our next ten years could be.
What can you do to help make it happen?
What is the legacy we will establish for the next ten years?
As we give thanks to God for the past ten years and look forward to our next ten years, our theme for 2018 is 2-4-10.
-Are there two people you can bring to CTR (2)
-For (4)
-Our next ten years (10)
2-4-10 is the best thing any of us can do for our next ten years. I know there are circumstances and obstacles many of us face. I know the thought of 2-4-10 is scary to some. It is for me too – I am right there with you! We can (and will) talk more later about ways to face the obstacles that get in our way.
For now, I’m asking that 2-4-10 become not just the theme for 2018. I’m asking each of us to consider taking on 2-4-10 as a personal mission for 2018. Are you up for this? Will you join me? What a great challenge it is, but what a great opportunity and blessing it could be. 2-4-10, for 2018 and beyond.
A Holy Lent
At our Ash Wednesday services yesterday, the Celebrant invited us “to the observance of a holy Lent.” What does this mean? To me, it suggests a distinction between a holy Lent and simply showing up, ‘checking the boxes’ or ‘doing Lent’. Yet I need to be careful here. In no way do I wish to demean or diminish the significance of ‘doing’ or showing up. These are good things, and are part of a longer obedience that brings honor to God and blessings to us. That said, I believe Lent calls us into something more and deeper. Such is the nature of Lent. Lent calls us to be holy.
What makes for the keeping of a holy Lent? The service itself gives us some guidelines and mentions self examination, repentance, prayer, fasting, self denial, and reading and meditating on God’s holy word. All good things again, yet none of them alone makes for the keeping of a holy Lent.
A holy Lent goes beyond anything we do or don’t do. It is not as if God needs me to give up chips, and my salvation is not enhanced by anything I manage to forego. Observing a holy Lent is more about my heart before God. It is in response to all God has done to reconcile us to himself (2 Corinthians 5:21). The finished work of Christ is just that – it is done, completed, and nothing can be added to or taken away from what God has done for us. Lent is more about what we do with what God has done, seeing that we “not receive the grace of God in vain” (2 Corinthians 6:1).
A holy Lent calls us to seek God, and to do so in humility and with discipline. The humility gives us a right heart before God, and the discipline we need to carry us beyond the “I don’t feel like it moments.”
I’m sensing this year for myself and perhaps for all of us that we are being called to do more than simply keep Lent (as important as that is). What will you do this year to make your keeping of Lent holy? What will you do to seek God more deeply and earnestly? What will you do to seek Him in humility and with discipline?
See you Sunday!
-Bill
