“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
These are the words of greeting from Paul at the beginning of most of his letters in the Bible. They ask for Grace and Peace. Grace is a word that can be used in a number of different ways. One meaning is to give a gift expecting nothing in return. This is what is meant when we say we are saved by God’s grace. It is a free gift, we don’t have to give back anything or pay anything for the gift.
For some time I have been thinking about our church’s purpose or mission. Now we serve many purposes, but what is the real mission we have been called to? Last month I shared the following mission statement with the Administrative Council. I am asking them to work with it, define the terms and develop it into our official mission statement. As such it would become the driving purpose behind our decisions and our programs. We should not enter into a project without explaining how it works to accomplish our mission.
“Our mission is to share the good news of Christ
with each other, our community, and the world
by giving and receiving grace
so that all people may grow in the Grace of Jesus Christ.”
Part of what I hear it saying is 1) We have good news to share. Does our talk end with good news or is it just a bunch of bad news and complaining? 2) We are to share this news with everyone. Our reality is that too often we limit who we want to share with and are not honest about those we are excluding. 3) Living in grace requires us to first acknowledge our own need and receive God’s grace for ourselves. 4) Treating others with grace calls us to be forgiving and giving without demanding something in return. 5) Finally we must acknowledge that people’s lives will ultimately grow and change by God’s grace working in them, not our own works. The Church stands in a position to point people toward that grace or push them away. We must continually evaluate our choices and actions to be sure we are pointing toward and not away from God’s grace.
I realize this does not proclaim how we always act. It is to be a measuring stick of what we want to become. Like any mission statement it must be developed. The Administrative Council will decide how to do that. Your input will be helpful. Use our suggestion box, contact Doug Cunningham , dougcunningham61@gmail.com (the Administrative council chair) or Pastor Dave, revrep51@hotmail.com . Or send the church an email mumc@ptd.net.
I pray that as a congregation we will develop a greater sense of our mission and as one body focus our energy in this one direction for God’s purpose.
Meanwhile Grace and Peace to all of you.
Pastor Dave
July 2009
It was a great week! I visited a number of families, five with babies less than a year old. They were excited about their faith, God’s promise in their children’s lives, and participating in our congregation. We followed up the visits with the Strawberry Festival. Some of the same young adults were working beside our seasoned veterans and all were having a good time; the younger folks excited about meeting some of the wonderful people who have been the backbone of our congregation for years.
The key to the festival was sharing: sharing jokes, life experiences, work, and church traditions. I shared with someone by pointing out an older man in the church who often misses worship, but every festival his wife bakes two cakes and he faithfully delivers them. The new person had never noticed the man before, but now knew of the little part he and his wife play in making us who we are. The sharing went deeper than this. We shared the abundance of our food. This year we gave away hotdogs, hamburgers, breakfast sandwiches and beverages. We prayed for people. We prayed every time someone rang the bell of the church. It started out as festival staff stopping everything to pray. Then we invited others to pray with us. And we offered to pray with visitors who shared some of their stories and concerns.
We’ve started to move from a concern about how much money we can make to a concern about how much we can share the love of Christ with the world. That’s why we prayed so much. It seems the best of us grows grouchy and irritated at some point on Festival Day. Occasionally we get over concerned about running around and being busy. We forget to seize the moment and share the love. Prayer is what brings us back into focus.
These are signs of the future I see for our church. It is a future that celebrates the abundance of God’s gifts to us, that leads us to give away the grace we have been freely given through Christ. It is about spreading good news. It is about expanding with whom we identify as God’s people. It is about including more people and different people. It is about stretching our blessing and being blessed back in mutual joy in Christ.
As the Church, everything we do should proclaim God’s blessing, give people Good News and freedom, include new people, and give all people an opportunity to grow as disciples of Christ. So whether we are eating strawberry shortcake, singing in the choir, studying the Bible, putting out the trash, or waiting in line at the grocery store, ask yourself, “How am I sharing in the Good News, including new people, and growing disciples today?”
I remain excited about the opportunities and the challenges that wait for each of us in God’s Church.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Dave
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