There is a wonderful passage of scripture in the book of Hebrews…
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3)
We are followers of Jesus. We even bear the name “Christian”… originally a derisive term that the people of Antioch gave to a new religious cult obsessed with a rabbi who had been executed by the Romans… “Christ-ians”: a group absolutely under the thrall of this leader.
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It’s hard to believe how quickly 2016 flew by. But flown it has… a welter of significant events… in our individual lives and in our life together as a church body. As I write this blog I am about to perform the funeral of a dear and longtime member of Singing Oaks, Alma Haley. And then tonight there will be a wedding rehearsal and tomorrow there will be a wedding in this same building. Death and new life celebrated back to back within a day.
Of course, as the year ends it’s a birth that’s on everyone’s mind… The birth of the son of God. And what a thought that is: that God would come to be born among us; that God would choose to be utterly helpless and in need of human help; that He would come to share in our situation… to really be one of us and not just one of us but the most vulnerable of us, a baby born into impoverished circumstances.
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We have a lot going on right now as a church. We have a new minister. … Brandon Bell, our missionary to college students and young adults. We are in the process of discerning who should be our next Worship Minister. In a few weeks we will be ordaining new elders, and reaffirming current elders. Even the face of the building has changed with our new paint job! And along with all these changes we in leadership are wrestling with the question of how we can better reach and hold this generation and coming generations. We are at a crucial point in the life of our church. We are asking, “Who are we?” and, “Who do we want to be?”
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We as a church are about to enter into a significant time as a church. Once every three years we typically appoint new elders and our current elders stand for renomination. And we are there again! This is not merely a human process. We want to have men whom God is calling into service…Men led by the Spirit.
We believe that God’s Spirit indwells each individual believer and we also believe that He indwells the collective body of believers, the church. We do not believe that this is merely a secular democratic process but rather a matter of collective discernment.
Thus we ask the whole church to be in prayer. And we ask any of you men whose names may be put forth to pray and to consider the possibility that God may be calling you to step into this role.
Nominations begin September 11th and will be accepted for the next two weeks.
The Christian philosopher, Alfred North Whitehead, once defined religion as “what one does with one’s solitariness.” And I think he has a point. Religion is what is between you and God – God alone. In the monastery of your own solitude you can experience things that are deeply personal and precious.
However, I think there is more to it than that – much more. Your inner self can be a monastery but it can also be a terribly lonely space – even a torture chamber at times. It is not good to always be alone. You and I need others, and we need them desperately. Religion is therefore also the joy and the shared reality that we experience in community.
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