November 28, 2007
Not long ago I received a note from a long-time friend who weighed in on the question of whether or not the church should begin construction of the final sanctuary that has been in the Master Plan since we moved to this location in 1997. With his permission I share a portion of his message:
“Don, I second your opinion. You may remember I was one of those ten people who stood up with an opinion to stay at Glencliff years ago. The collective wisdom and foresight of our church leaders has proved me wrong many times as I have seen so many folks who could hear, see, and live the word...or had physical or spiritual shelter in their time of need. You are on the right track...”
I, of course, have absolutely no memory of how he voted on that night so many years ago. But I clearly appreciate his vote of confidence now at this pivotal moment in the history of our church. His personal witness of how that vote has changed so many lives is a powerful affirmation of how God is moving us forward at Christ UMC.
When the Compass Committee began work on the Strategic Plan three years ago they adopted a verse from Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy as a guide: “God does not want us to be shy with His gifts, but bold, loving and sensible (Eugene Peterson translation).” Last Tuesday night, as the Building Committee prepared to vote on its recommendation to the Church Conference, I asked them to use that verse to evaluate the project being proposed. Is it bold? Is it loving? Is it sensible? By a unanimous vote of 53 to 0 they decided to send to the December 9 All Church Conference a recommendation to move forward with this Phase IV building project.
I hope that you will also allow this verse to guide your prayerful consideration of this project in the days to come. And I urge you to be present so that your voice will be heard on December 9. I can assure you that, if the Conference approves this project, as I hope it will, you will one day tell your children that you were there when Christ United Methodist Church made another great step forward in its ministry to our city, to the world, and to the generations yet to come.
