By Ed Barnett
It is Tuesday morning and Thanksgiving is a couple of days away. I am sitting in my office reminiscing over this year and thanking God for the blessings He has poured out on our Conference. When we are faithful in working on the mission of the church, God always blesses.
Several years ago, as I was traveling in various countries in Europe, the beautiful castles and churches that always seemed to be built on higher ground struck me. I could see them from miles away. The people wanted their church to be seen. They wanted it to be the light on the hilltop. The builders wanted everyone to see how beautiful their places of worship were, and they created them as places of safety. And yet, when you travel in Europe today, you find that many of the famous old churches and castles are museums.
When built, these edifices were something special, but after following centuries of tradition, they lost what they had so deeply cherished. For a small token today, you can walk through these marvelous edifices and wonder what it must have been like in the “good old days.”
Sometimes I wonder if we don’t tend to do the same thing with our churches. Brothers and sisters, we must be about fulfilling the Gospel Commission today and always. It is our task to take Jesus to the world around us. We must be creative and thoughtful about how we reach out to the ever- changing world. Our missionary approaches must recognize that following Jesus will take us to places and introduce us to people we never expected. As one Bible translation says, let Him be in the driver’s seat, not us. It is not easy reaching out to each community event in our town or city. Even so, it’s not what we do, but what He will do through us.
When we are faithful to Him, God always blesses. This year God has faithfully blessed us with the generosity of our believers across the Conference. As of the end of the month of October we had more than a nine percent tithe increase. Among other things, it means that next year we don’t have to worry about cuts to our pastoral or office staff. We can continue to grow the mission of His church.
Today, I encourage you to continue in your faithfulness to God by focusing on the Gospel Commission. Be faithful in your stewardship as we finish out this year. It really is what helps the mission to continue to grow in our conference.
It’s my prayer that God will richly bless you throughout the rest of this year. Thank you for a job well done.
–Ed Barnett is RMC president.