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May 2008: "A vision without a task is but a dream,
A task without a vision is drudgery, A vision and a task is the hope of the world." --From a church in Sussex, England, 1730.
To the People of God:
Emmanuel's Mission Statement: Unified by God's Grace, to worship and to proclaim the Gospel of Christ Jesus through word and deed. Pentecost comes on May 11 this year. (It is also Mother’s Day on the secular calendar. Let’s stay focused on the Day of Pentecost in this newsletter.) I think it is better to think of that day as a day to recognize the calling forth of the church to do ministry and proclamation in the world. We are driven out of our little secure house and lead outside to be the presence of Christ in the world. The story of Acts reveals a people sent out into the world to be the living message and presence of Jesus Christ. These people are empowered by the Holy Spirit – a source of power outside of themselves which comes to rest on and within them. Rueben P. Job once wrote, "Most of us have lived long enough to have thought or said, 'I would never do that!' It is the common response of ordinary people like us to a task that seems to need extraordinary wisdom, strength, or faith." He goes onto point out "... we often live our lives on the easy path of the least faith and effort. To observe the church is to see that we are not alone in choosing the easy path. Yet we know there is a better way and higher calling for us as individuals, as congregations, as denominations." The vision and a mission of a congregation are usually only fluffy words with very little substance to them. Emmanuel, for an example, has a mission statement few might argue with but I seriously doubt many in the congregation have any knowledge of or commitment to that mission statement. Few Christians will live into a vision or a mission within their lifetime for a variety of reasons. I remember reading one of Scott Peck’s books once and he said that is because most of us live out the great sin known as laziness. I know that this is true for me. When I am honest with myself I know that I neither have the strength nor the skill to DO MIRACULOUS things. So I take the easier path and end up doing a little to make me feel a little better about myself and the world. Pentecost comes around each year to remind me that the Holy Spirit will and can empower individuals, congregations, and denominations. Rueben Job goes on to write: "The record of individuals and Christian movements that have transformed the world within and around them is testimony to their capacity to receive power from beyond themselves to fulfill their calling. The power was given to ordinary people who were called to live an extraordinary way. Could that be your calling?" Let us pray:
Come, O Holy Spirit, Come! One of Christ’s servants, |