If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17
On Sunday, we heard Moses’ charge to the Israelites on the banks of the Jordan (Deut. 4) and Jesus’ words to the disciples at the Last Supper (Jn. 14). In both instances, they were instructing their people before a major transition and time of uncertainty. Moses would die, leaving a new leader to bring the people into their new lives in Canaan. Jesus would go through the cross, resurrection, and ascension, leaving his disciples to follow him without his visible presence.
The call from the passages is clear: Moses reminds his people of God’s faithfulness in the past and calls them to obey God’s commands in the uncertain present. They didn’t have to know everything or predict the future. They simply had to recognize that God had been faithful and keep obeying. Jesus also calls his followers to obedience. Again, the disciples aren’t expected to know more than has been revealed. Jesus simply tells them to obey what he has already taught them.
But Jesus also promises the presence of the Spirit to his disciples. This promise extends all the way to us! As we embark on major transitions in the church, as we step forward into an uncertain future, we can be at peace because the Spirit has been given! Jesus has promised to be present with us, through his Spirit. Pray that we would walk in obedience and trust by the strength of the Spirit!
Steven+
Scripture Reflections
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. - Acts 4:13
This verse that we heard on Sunday is an example of what Paul is describing in I Cor. 1:27-29: “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” In a humorous sense, it gives hope to all of us, because we are not the mighty, the esteemed, the wise! We may have a bit more education that Peter and John, or a bit more money, but none of us can boast of being the rich, powerful, and famous!
Paul’s reasoning is simple: God chooses the humble rather than the powerful so that we won’t be able to boast that we have accomplished it ourselves. The glory goes to God, not to us, and using humble people is God’s way of sidestepping the temptation to take credit we all feel.
Practically speaking, this means that there is no reason whatsoever to worry about our inadequacy, from God’s perspective. He isn’t remotely worried about the fact that we don’t have enough energy, money, or education for the task at hand. He isn’t worried about whether our job is good enough, our bank account full enough, or our degree prestigious enough. The world might get wrapped up in those things, tempting us to anxiety and worry, but God chose uneducated fishermen, humble women, and little children to receive his blessing and carry his news. He builds his kingdom through the unlikeliest of people.
The only thing that seems to matter to God is what the priests observed about Peter and John—they recognized that they had been with Jesus. As you look at the work before you today, as you look at the burdens of this week and month, and you feel the weight of life on your shoulders, remember the thing that God cares about—that we would seek the presence of Jesus with all of our strength! May we be a church that is characterized by the desire to be with Jesus!
In Christ,
Steven+
Post-Easter, Post-COVID: Entering New a Phase of the Church’s Life
It might sound optimistic to title this newsletter “post-COVID.” Indeed, we don’t know the future, and things are not yet back to normal! But in hope that the complexities of last year are diminishing, we are planning ahead. We don’t know everything that is to come, but our hope is a year of healthy development for this young church. As I have looked back on the last year, I have been deeply grateful for what has occurred, and I look forward in hope to what lies ahead.
I was challenged a couple years ago with the idea that a church should always be striving, as a body, to develop vertically and horizontally. Vertical growth looks like people more eager to pray, more eager to worship, more desirous of the presence of God. This should happen not just to us individually, but as a body, and so a healthy church consists of a thick connection of people seeking the presence of God together. As I survey the last year, we have seen this! Horizontal development looks like serving those in need, spreading the gospel, and discipling Christians who are young in the faith. Again, this should happen as a body, and again, as I survey the last year, we have seen this occur! Prayer walks, conversation partners with immigrants, intergenerational triads, youth catechism—a lot has happened during COVID!
The question I have set before the governance team and staff is, “How do we need to grow vertically and horizontally, as a body, in a post-COVID world?” Some of the practices of the last year will transfer, but others won’t.
We know a few things. We know that now is the time for development in how we disciple the next generation. From nursery to college, we want to lead the next generation deeper into the faith. We know that we need to move forward in external ministry. We know that the world we live in increasingly doesn’t think in Biblical ways, and so we need to teach people how to navigate our culture gracefully and faithfully, with minds and hearts renewed by the word of God. As we work on these areas, expect to hear “steps forward” from us!
One major step forward is logistic, but it will open the door to many other things. We are in serious conversation with Cambridge to move our service to 9:00am and set up a semi-permanent presence at Cambridge. We hope that this transition occurs in May and are expectant that it will make the church more accessible to families with children. This will enable us to have activities and classes for the youth and have fellowship time for the adults after church. It will also mean church offices and a fixed children’s classroom. We will keep you posted on this transition!
As we move forward, please don’t stop praying for the church, and please let us know if you have ideas for our development.
In Christ,
Steven+