Today is an important day for us as a church family. We will gather to make some strategic decisions regarding future ministry. I couldn’t help but reflect on another critical moment in our history as a local church. Ten years ago this month, we were meeting in a small facility on Cascade Road. We were offering multiple worship services and were pressed for space. And we were presented with a unique opportunity to relocate to a larger and more versatile facility on East Fulton (our current facility).
Of course, there were a number of challenges involved.
- We needed to make an offer in a timely manner (and yet our constitution required us to wait three weeks for a congregational meeting).
- An established congregation had to be willing to walk away from the emotional attachment to that historic property and open a new uncertain chapter in the church’s story.
- We needed to extend ourselves and make an offer on the new property before we had sold the old property.
- For the first time in this church’s history, we had to consider taking out a loan to make it all work.
From a human standpoint, there was a certain amount of risk involved. But God has not called us to safety and security. God expects more than the status quo. We are responsible to allocate our gifts and abilities for the greatest impact in God’s kingdom.
Jesus made this clear to his disciples in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25). All of the servants had been entrusted with some of the master’s money. One of those servants buried the money in the ground for safekeeping. This servant reasoned that any other investment would have involved a certain amount of risk. So he decided to play it safe. But that servant was roundly condemned when the master returned. The master expected that the entrusted resources would be invested and multiplied. And God expects the same from us. This is not an excuse to act foolishly or irresponsibly – but it is a call to take gospel risk.
Pastor Jeff
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