01-14-25

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 14, 2025
On Saturday, the Elders and Board had a great gathering to begin conversations about 2025, and in the later afternoon, when just the Board was together, I shared with them the slogan for 2025 that I hope will guide some of our work. The slogan is: Making it happen with two other people. The idea is to involve others. We as a church need to do a better job of inviting others to join us in whatever the task might be. We have some incredibly hardworking individuals around the church who make things happen. That’s fantastic! However, there are many others who possess remarkable talents and would be thrilled to contribute their energy to crucial tasks, but they are never given the opportunity. The funny thing was that I included a scripture (Titus 2:7-8a) with the slogan, but it was the wrong one. I have a bad habit of doing more than one thing at a time, and I flipped the scriptures. I read it out loud to the Board, and to be honest, I had a moment where I kept on telling myself, “This is the right passage, but why do I see absolutely no connection to the topic?” I moved on, but it wasn’t until later that night that I realized what had occurred when I noticed the Board scripture on the document that was to have the Titus passage. The intended passage for the Board was Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 where we find, “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their hard work. If either should fall, one can pick up the other.” Of course, I was thinking “two or three are better than one,” but you get the idea. If you are invited to do something this coming year, if you say YES, find a couple of people to join you in the work. Not only is it good to involve others, but it is usually a lot more fun.

Triune God, O Creator of community, continue to put before us the work of the Gospel, and then bring some good folks to share in the work. Amen.