open doors
This new year marks a year of important transition for Life as we move into our new space and worship time.
No doubt our move to mornings will bring joy to a lot of Lifers, as well as some mild grief and serious adjustment to others (I think I’m in both of these groups). But one thing I’m deeply convinced of is that we are entering a season of great opportunity for all of us that call Life home. Here is a sampling of what I see God doing as we make this move . . .
It gives us an opportunity to connect with one another in new ways. I’ve heard a number of you talk about how much you are looking forward to being able to grab a meal with others from Life rather than rush home after worship. Others are talking about the opportunity to open your home on Sunday afternoon or evening to have friends from the church (and unchurched friends) over. I love this. Doing life together is a huge part of what we are about.
It gives us an opportunity to reestablish who we are. The most thoughtful concerns I’ve heard expressed about the move have less to do with what time we meet and more to do with who we are. Is there something of Life that will be lost if we are meeting in the mornings? Or in transitioning from being nomads to having our own building? Valid questions for sure. Life’s values are pretty deeply embedded, and I’m confident that they will make the move with us. But we need to be intentional about leaning into the call God has given us as a church, and each of us taking ownership to see that we grow deeper into our call. (To this end, for the rest of the month our Sunday teaching will revolve around who we are – our core values. I’m really looking forward to this!)
And I think most significantly, this move gives us fresh opportunity to pray for and reach out to our un- and de-churched friends. This is key, and was the impetus that started this move in motion. And I want you to take this question to heart: Will you be part of reaching out to those God has given you? Or will you sit on the sidelines and leave it to others? More on this in the weeks to come, but I want to challenge you to commit to daily prayer for those God has put in your life that you would like to see become part of Life this year.
God has gone ahead of us into this new year, and we are going to have a lot of joy in living into the plans he has for us.
Lord bless you friends, and we’ll look forward to being with you this weekend –
Tim
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