Communication is an art. It's
easy to miss what someone is trying to say to us. We can miss crucial
information. Not pay attention to the signals.
I realized that recently when we
were in the stands for an IU baseball game. When the Hoosiers were at bat
the 3rd base coach would send all sorts of signals to the batter at home plate
or the runner on first. The coach would tap the bill of his cap, tap his
right arm three times with his left hand, touch his nose, tap his right elbow,
and then go back to his cap. The batter would stand outside the batter's
box watching all of this, or the runner at first would study the coach before
leaning towards second.
It all looked like
nonsense. And yet it all meant something. A colleague who also is a
baseball umpire told me that sometimes the signal means the batter is to bunt,
or the batter is to not to swing at the next pitch, or that the coach wants a
hit-and-run play. There are times when the coach is telling the runner on
first to steal second, and there are signals that mean only ignore all the
previous signals.
I smiled at the nonsense going on
at 3rd base, but what looks like nonsense actually means something.
Jesus knew how important it was
for his friends to understand the basics of the Kingdom of God. That is
why he spent his days and nights with a group of twelve close friends.
Over and over he did his best to make sure they didn't miss the life-giving
signals God was sending the world.
This coming weekend we are going
to be sending some signals, and I don't want you to miss them. A profound
-and potentially life-changing- conversation has been going on around
FUMCB for months. It's called "Fruitful Congregation Journey"
or FCJ. Sunday you are going to hear very briefly about the first of five
BIG IDEAS the FCJ team has begun to understand about healthy, vital,
Christ-centered, world-changing churches.
You'll hear just a few minutes
about this month's BIG IDEA in worship (this will happen one Sunday each month
for the next five months), and then you are invited to an FCJ "Learning
Session" immediately following worship. After the 9 o'clock service
an FCJ "Learning Session" will be in the Chapel. Following the
10:15 service the "Learning Session" will be in the Sanctuary, and
the FCJ "Learning Session" will be in the Buskirk-Chumley Theater
immediately after The Open Door.
A refrain I have heard from a few
church members over the years is "I didn't know" or "a small
group must be making decisions" or "I feel like I'm on the
outside." We want you to be in the room. We want you to be a
part of the conversation because there are going to be some major decisions
ahead of us about how we will live out our mission for God to make disciples of
Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Some brothers and sisters are
going to be doing their very best to signal you this weekend about what God has
been saying, and they want to hear what this means to you. They want to
hear your questions.
They don't want you to be caught
off base. Left out of the game that is the blessed life of this faith
community. If you remain in the stands, as a bystander, it may look like
nonsense down there at 3rd. But those signals all mean something!
What do you need to do to become
better at picking up the signals that others (and God!) are sending your way?
In Christ and for Christ,
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