Goodness and Challenges
Tonight the pastors and our wives will gather for our annual Christmas dinner. It’s become one of my highlights of the year, because …
As I connect with people outside our church, I often get the question, “How’s the church doing?” It’s a question that aims at the heart of the pastoral tension. Instantly my mind can be flooded with good things and hard things, gains and losses, triumphs and challenges. Do I just answer with whatever seems biggest in the moment? No.
It’s become my habit to refuse the pad answers of either “good” or “meh” and instead I talk about the goodness of God. He’s been good to us. Is good to us. Will be good to us. That is true no matter the challenges.
But since the pastors spend a few hours every other Thursday night working on the challenges, this Christmas dinner is a time to reflect on that goodness — enduring, overcoming goodness that God has worked thousands of ways, only a small fraction of which we see. So we’ll talk about that!
And we see it in you. God has given us his Holy Spirit, indwelling us with real power, working in our working and waiting. All the goodness we celebrate was once a challenge, a sea not-yet parted, a stone not-yet rolled away.
Take, for example, a current challenge. As we enter the third week of December, we have received $1,167,717 in giving, with a target of $1,348,300. The remaining gap is $180,583 in our General Fund. That’s not unusually behind at this point in December, but it is behind, and it is a challenge.
Many of you have been generous, and I’m so grateful. Thank you! For others who have not given or who have given sporadically, this challenge presents an opportunity!
As we near the close of December, let’s pray and give to cover the $180,583 gap, and then, should God provide in abundance, all giving beyond the General Fund will go towards the Steeple Fund (currently $449K of $1.2M, $751K to go).
We have just under three weeks remaining, and I believe God’s goodness is at work. Would you be a part of that? His enduring, overcoming goodness.
Gifts can be made online, or by check or cash, placing your gift in the donation box on the wall at the back of the sanctuary.
