There's an old joke -- if you've
heard this look to the end of the article because there is some important news
there! -- about the devout resident of a river town who refused to leave his
house as the waters of a nearby river began to rise. "I was praying and
the Lord told me he would rescue me," he assured neighbors and friends as
they left their homes and headed for higher ground.
A little while later, a sheriff's
deputy showed up in a Jeep as the water began to lap at the man's front porch.
The man waved off the would be rescuer and said, "No, the Lord told me he
would rescue me."
The next day the man had moved to
a second bedroom because of the rising river. A Civil Defense team came by in a
small motorboat and offered the man a way to safety, but he assured them the
Lord had promised to rescue him.
Twenty-four hours later the man
was perched precariously on his roof. A National Guard helicopter swooped down
and asked the man if he wanted them to drop a basket for him to use to escape.
He shouted back that the Lord had promised to rescue him.
A day later the man drowned. When
he met God in heaven, he was furious. "You promised to rescue me!" he
growled at the Creator. God snapped back, "I sent you a Jeep, a boat and a
helicopter: what more did you want?"
Sometimes we turn away from the
very thing we've asked for. I've never encountered anyone who said, "I
don't want you to pay attention to my perspective, thoughts or feelings."
I have never met someone who said, "Disregard me and my concerns and my
hopes." I have never known anyone who said, "This church and what it
is all about means so much to me it's hard to put into words, but you can
ignore my sense of where God wants us to be and what God wants us to do."
You have several very key,
strategic opportunities to share your thoughts, feelings, dreams, concerns and
hopes for our congregation's future coming up. The first is the on-line
Fruitful Congregations Journey (FCJ) survey. This on-line survey can be
accessed at www.surveymonkey.com/s/FCJStep2Fall13,
and it will take about 20-30 minutes to complete. Results go to the UMC Church
Development office in Indianapolis, and the identity of each respondent is
protected. If you don't get this done by the start of the third week in
September, you'll miss out!
The second opportunity for you to
share your perspective on our church's present and future -- as well as
learning about some of the dynamics of a healthy, vital congregation -- will be
at the October 25th "All-Church FCJ Workshop" in our Great Hall from
10:15 a.m. - 3 p.m. You can register in the Gathering Place or the
Buskirk-Chumley Theater lobby this Sunday, September 7th or the 14th.
Spaces are limited and you will need to make a $7 donation for the catered
lunch. (On top of these opportunities, 35 laity will be a part of an FCJ Focus
Group on the Friday night of the weekend consultation.)
Last week I saw a great cartoon
that showed two dinosaurs looking at the just departed Noah's Ark. The one says
to the other, "Oh, I thought they were loading tomorrow." They missed
the boat. Fill out that survey this week, won't you? Register for the
All-Church Workshop.
Proverbs 14:5 says "a
faithful witness does not lie" and verse 6 reminds us that "knowledge
is easy for one who understands." Share your knowledge. Put your faith and
wisdom and grace to work. Complete the survey and register for the workshop!
In Christ and for Christ,
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