Isaiah 43:18-19
Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
When we arrived at the church almost four years ago, the first thing I did was install two
whiteboards in the office. I’d learned enough about myself to know I needed a visual
representation of our goals and needs. I wrote them down so that whenever I walked into the
office, I could see what we were working towards. Writing it down and having a visual
representation helped keep our primary focuses at the forefront of my mind to lessen
distractions. It was equally important that if anyone came and sat down for a discussion, they
could see those things as well. The whiteboard served a dual purpose. Keeping me focused and
letting people know what we were working on a daily basis. If you wanted to know where we
were, you could see it for yourself.
Admittedly though, we’ve gotten distracted in recent years with all the changes we’ve made as
a church. I haven’t kept up with my board as I should and honestly, some of our goals have
changed. We’ve reached the intended milestones and gone in a different direction than we had
anticipated four years ago. The goals have changed, and the trajectory of our church has been
realigned. Our ministries have grown and financial needs refocused. We are a new
congregation and a new people with a focus on reaching our community. The scripture from
Isaiah 43 is an expression of this very idea. God is telling his people through the prophet Isaiah
that he is doing something new with his people. Forget the former things and look ahead to
new works and a new journey; he’s making a way as well as new paths in wild places. Erase the
whiteboard, I’ve got a different goal in mind.
The question though is what throws me off. “Do you not perceive it?” Essentially, can you feel
what I’m doing in this new season? God is doing something miraculous with our church that is
beyond what we could have believed. He created something new in an unknown direction.
Through it all He has been faithful and so have you. Can you feel it? Our attendance continues
to increase, ministries continue to grow, and we are making some important financial headway
needed to grow the church. Some of these we wrote on the board but some we never
expected from the beginning. That’s the beauty of the whiteboard. It’s not written in stone,
and we can change it as God directs us in ministry.
This week I erased and cleaned off the whiteboards in our office when we received some
awesome news. Why? Because it’s time to refocus and dream big in this new season as a church.
After our church conference Sunday afternoon we had some unexpected giving we didn’t know
about that was received earlier that morning. With that, we were able to officially request to
pay off our disaffiliation loan to our provider! Within a year and through your faithfulness God
has provided a way to officially close a chapter in the life of our church; “See, I am doing a new
thing! Now it springs up, do you not perceive it?”
God is doing new and special things at The Well at Centerville! He continues to provide for us
and make a way in unknown places for which we are grateful. Next week, we will write down
some new goals and ideas to keep us focused. Today, however, we are thankful for you and
your faithfulness through this process. Without you, it could not have been done and I’m
extremely proud to be your pastor. God is Love and Love Lives Here!
Keep The Faith,
Pastor Tommy
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