Last week I sat at tables with the United Church of Christ Board. In a crowded room in Cleveland, we made decisions that will shape the future of the denomination that has been my spiritual home. Along with the Rev. Dr. John Dorhauer, our nominee for General Minister & President, I, too, love the United Church of Christ. This church is an amazing gift from God. We have been together longer than were the two antecedent denominations from which we were formed. The "firsts" that we name and celebrate are powerful reminders of the visionary courage, a legacy of our forebears in faith. This bold experiment in ecumenism continues to be a blessing in villages, towns, and cities. We are a voice for justice when others would be cautiously silent and complicit in the injustices of the world. We are a voice of affirmation and love when others are quick to condemn and exclude. We are a bold, visionary voice that finds its courage in the Spirit of the Living God. Yes, I, too, love this church.
That said, I have a concern about attempts to narrowly define the future of the United Church of Christ, for I am persuaded that the future always comes to us as a gift of God. The future is about hope--hope that is received, embraced, and celebrated. The future is not simply for the soaring visionaries, but also for those who are grounded with deep memory and sacred tradition. My fervent prayer for the United Church of Christ is that we will walk together into a future that is always shrouded in some mystery, never imposed upon us by elitist powers and principalities. This transitional moment in our history is not a time for political posturing and management theory; rather, this is a moment for kneeling before God's majesty and mystery. The future comes to us as a gift. As we journey together through Holy Week toward the dawn of Easter, we know that transitional times take us to places where we had not intended to go. Nevertheless, our hope is not in our own reason and strength, but in the mystery of resurrection and glorious life. Clearly, there are attitudes and actions that will help the future be birthed, but that future always comes a gift. We can do much to teach and advocate for a just society and a transformed world, but the transformation of heart and mind is ultimately the work of God. The life and leadership we have experienced thus far have been entrusted to us as God's gift. It will surely be so as the future comes in all its fullness.
In closing, I remember the leadership change anticipated by Deuteronomy 31:7-8. Moses is passing on the mantle to Joshua and a new generation of leaders. This charge might well be the one for our emerging leaders in the United Church of Christ in this time of transition: "Be strong and bold, for you are the one who will go with this people into the land that the LORD has sworn to their ancestors to give them; and you will put them in possession of it. It is the LORD who goes before you. The LORD will be with you; the LORD will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."
God of us all,
I pray with humility and with hope in the transforming work that you are doing through the manifold settings of the United Church of Christ. Bless by your Holy Spirit your servant John that he and we may be strong and bold in the face of the challenges that are before us. Help us all to move beyond our fears and anxieties to that future that comes to us an amazing gift from you. Move us from death to life in Jesus Christ, who calls us to follow, to serve, and always to love. Amen.
That said, I have a concern about attempts to narrowly define the future of the United Church of Christ, for I am persuaded that the future always comes to us as a gift of God. The future is about hope--hope that is received, embraced, and celebrated. The future is not simply for the soaring visionaries, but also for those who are grounded with deep memory and sacred tradition. My fervent prayer for the United Church of Christ is that we will walk together into a future that is always shrouded in some mystery, never imposed upon us by elitist powers and principalities. This transitional moment in our history is not a time for political posturing and management theory; rather, this is a moment for kneeling before God's majesty and mystery. The future comes to us as a gift. As we journey together through Holy Week toward the dawn of Easter, we know that transitional times take us to places where we had not intended to go. Nevertheless, our hope is not in our own reason and strength, but in the mystery of resurrection and glorious life. Clearly, there are attitudes and actions that will help the future be birthed, but that future always comes a gift. We can do much to teach and advocate for a just society and a transformed world, but the transformation of heart and mind is ultimately the work of God. The life and leadership we have experienced thus far have been entrusted to us as God's gift. It will surely be so as the future comes in all its fullness.
In closing, I remember the leadership change anticipated by Deuteronomy 31:7-8. Moses is passing on the mantle to Joshua and a new generation of leaders. This charge might well be the one for our emerging leaders in the United Church of Christ in this time of transition: "Be strong and bold, for you are the one who will go with this people into the land that the LORD has sworn to their ancestors to give them; and you will put them in possession of it. It is the LORD who goes before you. The LORD will be with you; the LORD will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."
God of us all,
I pray with humility and with hope in the transforming work that you are doing through the manifold settings of the United Church of Christ. Bless by your Holy Spirit your servant John that he and we may be strong and bold in the face of the challenges that are before us. Help us all to move beyond our fears and anxieties to that future that comes to us an amazing gift from you. Move us from death to life in Jesus Christ, who calls us to follow, to serve, and always to love. Amen.
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