Pastor's Ponderings:
As I begin my fifth year under appointment to the Hebron United Methodist Church, I wanted to take some time to reflect back at where we have been, as well as look forward to what the future holds.
Last month, I asked you the question, “Are you an apostle or a disciple?” I talked a little about how a disciple “follows” while apostles “are sent out”. I talked about how disciples have faith “in” Jesus while apostles have the faith “of” Jesus. Are you an apostle or a disciple? Or are we just trying to split hairs?
Teresa of Avila popularized the idea that “Christ has no body but yours, no hands or feet but yours. Being the hands and feet of Christ denotes doing good deeds and offering compassionate service. The truth is that anybody can do good deeds; and thankfully many people do. But we are called to be more. 1 Corinthians 2:16 calls us to “have the mind of Christ”. Having the “mind of Christ” is what moves us from “discipleship” to “apostleship”, from believing in Jesus to believing like Jesus.
Understanding the difference of “believing in” from “believing like” is what I think will move this church forward in 2021 and beyond. It won’t be easy and it will take all of us pulling together believing “like” Jesus to make it happen. There will be obstacles to overcome, obstacles that prevent congregations from moving forward. The three most stubborn obstacles are (1) Personalities; (2) Past; (3) Probable.
Personalities: If we focus on personalities rather than purpose, our mission will suffer. And our mission is to make disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Past: Believing your best days lay behind you is like steering into the future with the guidance of the rear view mirror. Rear view mirrors are windows into the past and are much smaller that the windshield. You just can’t see that much looking at a rear view mirror compared to the windshield. It used to be churches wanted to go back to the 1950’s; then the 1970’s; then the 1990’s; now we would settle for 2019. The problem is we can’t live in the past. It’s time to look out the windshield and see where God is leading us.
Probable: this is the obstacle where you decide to do ministry that ruffles the least feathers and doesn’t challenge the budget. The truth is the future will challenge us, but I believe we are up to that challenge.
This is our time, time to have a bold vision, a vision compelling enough and risky enough to challenge you in your faith. Are you ready for the challenge?
Pastor Pete
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Last month, I asked you the question, “Are you an apostle or a disciple?” I talked a little about how a disciple “follows” while apostles “are sent out”. I talked about how disciples have faith “in” Jesus while apostles have the faith “of” Jesus. Are you an apostle or a disciple? Or are we just trying to split hairs?
Teresa of Avila popularized the idea that “Christ has no body but yours, no hands or feet but yours. Being the hands and feet of Christ denotes doing good deeds and offering compassionate service. The truth is that anybody can do good deeds; and thankfully many people do. But we are called to be more. 1 Corinthians 2:16 calls us to “have the mind of Christ”. Having the “mind of Christ” is what moves us from “discipleship” to “apostleship”, from believing in Jesus to believing like Jesus.
Understanding the difference of “believing in” from “believing like” is what I think will move this church forward in 2021 and beyond. It won’t be easy and it will take all of us pulling together believing “like” Jesus to make it happen. There will be obstacles to overcome, obstacles that prevent congregations from moving forward. The three most stubborn obstacles are (1) Personalities; (2) Past; (3) Probable.
Personalities: If we focus on personalities rather than purpose, our mission will suffer. And our mission is to make disciples for Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Past: Believing your best days lay behind you is like steering into the future with the guidance of the rear view mirror. Rear view mirrors are windows into the past and are much smaller that the windshield. You just can’t see that much looking at a rear view mirror compared to the windshield. It used to be churches wanted to go back to the 1950’s; then the 1970’s; then the 1990’s; now we would settle for 2019. The problem is we can’t live in the past. It’s time to look out the windshield and see where God is leading us.
Probable: this is the obstacle where you decide to do ministry that ruffles the least feathers and doesn’t challenge the budget. The truth is the future will challenge us, but I believe we are up to that challenge.
This is our time, time to have a bold vision, a vision compelling enough and risky enough to challenge you in your faith. Are you ready for the challenge?
Pastor Pete
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