It’s great to be back and preparing for a new season of ministry here at SBICC. It’s wonderful to have such excellent staff, both paid and volunteer, who are able to keep things going so well in my absence. I was able to completely relax and recharge with my family during the last two weeks.
I’m excited about this fall. Of course, the bit of cooler air we had yesterday added a sense of excitement for school and football and clubs and all the fun stuff that begins in autumn. More than that, however, I’m getting psyched for what I perceive will be a rich season of growth together and of God’s presence and power in our fellowship.
Church and Transformation. I get a kick out of it when I hear songs like, “That Old Time Religion.” Some of the words are, “it was good for Paul and Silas…it’s good enough for me.”
There’s an irony it it, however, because the religion of Paul and Silas (two New Testament missionaries), was quite different from what the “Old Time Religion” implies. The song implies something that is unchangeable. The lives of Paul and Silas were about radical change regarding their beliefs, the people they associated with and the way they did things. The faith we say that we embrace, is not as much about holding on to a certain past—but about embracing a desired future; the kingdom of God. So, the genuine old way is actually “a new and living way (Hebrews 10:20).” It seems the church has been burdened in our society with the role of upholding cultural values, “holding the line” on moral issues, when it’s role in God’s eyes is something very different. The role of the church is to bear witness not to something that is fading away. Rather, it bears witness to something that has not yet fully appeared, yet can be experienced in the present—the life-transforming power of Jesus Christ and the freedom that comes with his reign.
This perspective gives hope. It tells me that the best is not lost in the “good ole days.” Instead, the best is yet to come. It reminds me what this entity called the church is all about—an agent of the Kingdom of God. It’s not about the past.
So, church, let’s begin this fall with a renewed embrace of God’s power to transform lives and to turn the world upside down. Better yet, let’s embrace God’s power to change us (2 Corinthians 3:18, 5:17) and turn our world’s upside down as we experience the Kingdom.
Yours for the Journey,
Pastor Tom
