“Be Strong and Courageous”
This October, as we enjoy the cool, crisp air of fall and the glorious beauty of trees aflame with red and gold leaves, we are also aware that we continue to live through tough times. We need more than ever to be people of prayer, faithful students of the Bible, a dedicated worshipping community and committed missionaries of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ wherever we are called to serve. Whatever situation we find ourselves, God is with us to provide our needs and unite us through the Holy Spirit. Even with our differences in personalities, opinions and ideas, we do have one thing in common: our faith in Jesus Christ and our love for God and God’s church.
"Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” -
Deuteronomy 31:7- 8
“Take on challenges so big that if they succeed, only God can take credit… The challenges should always be bigger than you…otherwise where do faith and trust come in?” – Carey Nieuwhof
Like Joshua, I need to hear the words of Moses often, “Be strong and courageous.” Unlike Joshua, I don’t have the same clarity of what exactly the Promised Land looks like for us, Church Family. For sure, I am praying for the Holy Spirit’s guidance to discern how God may be leading us to a place where God wants us to be in this season of what feels like pruning, with the hope that God is allowing our present difficulties and trials, to ensure that we grow and become fruitful. I try to listen to the words of Moses and find strength and courage to take on challenges that are “so big, that if they succeed, only God can take credit,” as Carey Nieuwhof, church growth consultant puts it. And if they fail, God can help us learn from our mistakes that will make us grow and mature as Jesus’ disciples. In fact, I am convinced more than ever that I would rather fail while trying then never try at all. Succeed or fail, a pastor is expected to have a vision. But I have come to believe that it is God’s vision not the pastor’s that we need to see, and God’s direction, that we need to hear, together.
This summer, I have spent quiet time with God, God’s word and listening to what God is saying to me, in leading our church in the process of discernment, assessment, envisioning, planning, implementation and evaluation. I am prayerfully working on a proposed plan to facilitate a “look and listen to God” vision and missions journey. I intend to enlist the help of a church task force dedicated to planning for ministry in the next 3 – 5 years, with our congregation. I need your help to pray, participate and plan for a future that is, as Baptist missions pioneer, Adoniram Judson, declared (even in the midst of tragedy in his own life), that the “future is bright as the promises of God.”
We don’t have all the time in the world. We have a choice to make: Do we want to wait for things to happen or Do we make things happen, with God’s power of love at work in each one of us? I hope that you choose to join me in making things happen in the power and spirit of God’s love. This October as the leaves begin to change and the colors of fall bring joy to the beholder, may we trust God to lead us in a season of change, open to the new thing that God is doing in and among us.
Have a Blessed, Healthy and Safe Autumn!
Yours in Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Carla
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