In my 1/6/08 sermon "Finding Other Ways Home" I shared that radical change would happen for us in 2008. This change is due to the loss of a source of funding that allowed us to finish 2007 financially even. In facing this challenge I invited us to a month of prayer to listen for God's will and desire for the future of White Pines United Methodist Church.
To frame this month of prayer we look in the story of the magi (wise men) visiting Jesus in Matthew 2:1-12. We see at least three different ways they looked to get there and then home by another way. We are in the position of needing to find other ways home; other ways of being the Body of Christ as we seek to be self-sufficient.
The wise men looked UP, WITHIN and AHEAD in their risky journey to and from Jesus, and through King Herod's threatening and disingenous realm. When they looked UP, they found a star. When they looked WITHIN, they found purpose. When they looked AHEAD, they found another way home.
The star gave them guidance; guidance above all the distractions and worries that come with only seeing what is immediately in front of us; guidance that shines in the darkness. We have to lift our heads and hearts in order to see the star. Our Great Thanksgiving prayer during open communion includes the call to "Lift up your hearts."
The purpose of their journey was to find Jesus and worship him. Other motivations for risking such a journey or making a commitment to a new church will not provide the needed spiritual, physical, psychological and social energy to see the process all the way through. The misson of the whole Christian Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We interpret that mission locally to be that we are called to GROW, LOVE and SERVE together. Our vision for what life looks like when that mission is being accomplished is that we are becoming God's people in Christ who love with purpose, depth and passion; and practice faith as a welcoming spiritual community.
Looking ahead to find another way home came to the wise men through a dream. God uses dreams and visions to reach us when we struggle to overcome barriers or despair at the current conditions we face. In teaching about the motivation for starting new churches, and White Pines in particular, I use the experience of Paul and Silas recorded in Acts 16:9-10, "That night Paul had a vision. He saw a man from Macedonia in northern Greece, pleading with him, 'Come over here and help us.' So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, for we could only conclude that God was calling us to preach the Good News there."
Finding and developing new and other ways of being the Body of Christ are our responses to God's gift of insight and creativity. Who knows what the coming month of prayer will hold for us? We have faced and come through other challenges in our history. May we approach this current situation with a confidence in God's power to guide us, give us purpose and show us multiple ways to go into the future.
I like the Acts passage for another reason as well. The language changes from a third person account of the development of the young Christian church to a first person plural account, "we decided..." I am grateful for all of you who have decided this is our journey and we are in it together. We answer the challenge to grow with our personal commitment and resources. In so doing we are witnesses that White Pines UMC is a real spiritual home where seeking people find help, hope and health. I praise God for us and the difference we make right now.
Peace, Pastor Jeff
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