Elijah has been home now for three months. I have shared many stories with you already, and I expect that more are to come. As I reflect upon this fondness we all have of telling and hearing stories of parenthood I realize that there is something common in all of our stories. Each of our stories, whether they be about learning to walk, talk, or drive a car are stories about growth. There’s a certain fondness we all have to these stories of how we grow. Whether they are stories of children, teens, or even the glib remarks we make about growing old, we are quite fond of growth.
Over the last month the necessity arose for looking back over the history of our congregational meetings. With the help of Bob Williams and Donna Lewis, the minutes from every congregational meeting were dug up and read. This was an arduous task. But, as Bob and Donna periodically informed me of the things they found it was as if they were telling stories of how this congregation grew in faith, as well as in number over the years.
Often, the topic of growth is spoken of in the language of change. Contrary to the language of growth, change is not usually received with fondness (unless your Barack Obama as of late J). Yet, we all know that growth doesn’t happen without change. Since 1993 there have been many changes at Living God. Even though these changes have yielded positive things for our congregation, one thing is noticeable from reading the meeting minutes from the past 15 years. Change frightens us.
Maybe we need to speak more of growth than of change. This may seem like mere semantics, but there is something very real about the way certain words infer certain things. For instance, I am thrilled to see Elijah grow. He’s 2 inches taller, and 2 pounds heavier since we brought him home. I am equally thrilled to see him walking, and to hear him learn certain words. But, even though I know that growth cannot happen without change, I am very much aware that I am resistant to the notion that he is going to change. I don’t want him to change. But, I want him to grow.
The truth is we can’t have both at the same time. We can’t grow and not change. To grow is to change. Likewise, to resist change is to resist growth. So, we must keep an open mind and an open spirit about things if we want to enjoy seeing them grow. This is true of our selves, our relationships, as it is true about our church.
This is the season of growth for the church. It is officially called the season of Pentecost. The lessons we hear on Sunday and the thrust of all the thematic material of this portion of the church year is on the growth of the church. As the world around is growing green with summer, the church celebrates the ways in which our faith has grown, and how our relationship to Jesus has grown over the centuries and throughout our lives.
God has done marvelous things with us as we have grown in our faith over the years. It may be helpful to recognize how our growth in faith has resulted in very wonderful changes in us. But, it is also important for us to realize that God isn’t finished with us yet. There are still many more stories of growth yet to be lived and told in the years to come. What will our children tell theirs about us, about our church, about God? I look forward to hearing those stories some day. I hope you do too.
Faithfully,
+Pastor Rich
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