Covenant's New Year,
and Beyond...
Starting 2022 off with Daniel and Liz Dover joining our church was a great way to continue the positive energy that concluded 2021. We are in the midst of a holiday surge of Covid, which has hit a number of you. Thankfully I am not aware of anyone that is presently sick with the Omicron variant whose symptoms are serious or have required hospitalization.
Later this month, I plan to dedicate a sermon to giving what I would describe as a State of the Church address. Yes, it will be based on scripture, because no sermon should be delivered without that foundation and still called a sermon. In my seven and a half years as your pastor, I've never given a message using this approach.
No, it won't feel like a Presidential address from the House Chamber, with your First Lady sitting in the gallery with a variety of special guests. I don't expect one half of the room to stand and applaud a particular point, and then the other side do so when I make an opposite point.
The Holy Spirit has been nudging me to share with you some relevant realities about Covenant, the United Methodist Church, our place in Memphis - specifically the Cordova community - and what our short and long-term future could look like.
I also feel that the best time for us to consider who we have been, who we are, and who we are becoming is when we are in a hopeful place. I believe we can take a more authentic look at ourselves because we have many reasons to be optimistic. We have challenges, but we aren't trying to overcome huge obstacles. This doesn't mean we don't have a few things to be concerned about. There are some important dynamics that we need to collectively address, but we have a good foundation to build upon as we consider what our priorities are once our world is in a post-pandemic place.
Too much has happened in 2020 and 2021 for us to not have noticed some changes in our church family dynamic. With faith and trust, we have a strong need to look to God for guidance, wisdom, inspiration, and truth.
With an echo of Epiphany still audible, what new vision might God be revealing to us?
What foundational ideals and truths do we need to make sure we cling to and uphold at all costs? How do we ensure that those Christ-rock components influence everything we seek to do?
How do we fit in with the present format of the UMC, and what might the future hold for our denomination?
How do we do our best to keep the main thing, the main thing...making Disciples for Jesus Christ for the betterment of our community, nation, and world?
I ask you to be in prayer as you seek to find your own answers to some of these questions, and others not yet asked. Also, please pray for me as your pastor, as I try and discern from God and God's Word, what God is desiring most from us as people called both Christian AND United Methodist.
