Life in the Church

In case you hadn't noticed, the Christmas season is here. Today is Black Friday, and I'm just about to head out for some shopping. We all have about twenty-seven parties scheduled in the next thirty days, and in stores and homes in that same period we'll hear about a thousand different versions of Carol of the Bells. I don't write this as a Scrooge. I love Christmas. But what I love above all the family traditions and celebrations is the Event at the center of it all: The Advent of the Messiah.

If it’s true that grief leaves you with a limp, then we must have been quite a disabled crew. Each Monday for thirteen weeks, we trudged in from the cold to pray, listen, and process the reality of our unique losses, ranging from the natural (and still devastating) loss of mothers and fathers, to the tragic and sudden loss of young life. But if you had peeked in the window at 401 Upchurch St. those evenings, you wouldn’t have only seen tears.

I want to make sure that everyone is aware of a relatively new resource that is available in the church bookstore. There is a section on the wall opposite the checkout desk that is now serving as our library. These books are available to church members to checkout and take home at no charge. The selection is rather modest, for now, but there are some great books available, and Lord willing the selection will grow over time.

At our September business meeting we announced that Phil will transition to working half time starting January 1st. We see this as a tremendous blessing because it allows Phil to slow down some and yet have the church still benefit from his teaching and pastoral gifts.

Last Sunday during announcements I shared some things regarding the upcoming senior pastor transition at SGC. Here I want to revisit a few of those, including what the role of lead or senior pastor is within the eldership, for the sake of those who weren't able to be there. Remember, your feedback is both welcome and desired.

This Sunday we launch both a new ministry team and a new element in our corporate gathering. The new team, Sunday Scripture Readers, will be devoted to the task of reading the Bible for our sermons. That is, instead of having the preacher read his main text, these men and women will read from the stage.

We work hard at things that we think are important. Of course, some of those things simply aren't—at least, not in the larger sense. Fantasy football is underway for many of us, and beating our cousin or co-worker or neighbor feels great in the moment and seems to justify the hours of research we did before making our draft picks. But this probably won't be remembered on our tombstone...even if we win ESPN's bazillion-dollar prize. Sometimes, though, things that really are most important go uncared for.

A quote from The Trellis and the Vine: The Ministry Mind-Shift that Changes Everything, by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne.

What do these have in common? All three will converge this Sunday morning at SGC. At least, that's our hope as we have been talking to Jermaine Powell about the possibility of creating some pieces of art that could embellish our auditorium but also capture some of the essence of what we are preaching.