Notes from the Pastor: Into the Storm

What is the worst thing that could happen to you? What do you fear?

There is a not so memorable episode of Star Trek: the Next Generation where Captain Picard meets an unconscious version of himself.  We learn that this other Picard is from the future and  in this future the Enterprise is trying to avoid what can only be described as a storm in space.  He sacrifices himself to save the ship, but in the end the ship is destroyed.  The current Picard learns that this choice, which the future Picard is going to do again, is the wrong choice.  The choice that saves the ship in the end is going into the storm.  The Enterprise does just that and the ship is saved.

I’ll ask again, what do you fear?

There are a lot of ways I could answer that question.  But the fear that I am dealing with the most as of late is the fear that our little congregation could close.  

Which in some ways is making progress.  You see, for years I didn’t want to admit that I was fearful of this happening.  I wanted to live in some sense of denial.  We were just in a temporary phase and things will pick up if we try this thing or that thing.  I wanted to live as if this wasn’t a present concern.

As with a lot of things, the pandemic took care of my sense of denial straightaway.  Because it’s hard to maintain a sense of denial when death is staring you in the face.  When you worry that your loved ones or you yourself could die from COVID.    

Everytime I pray, I wonder: will God answer our prayer?  Will the Holy Spirit sweep through our little congregation?  Will others join our community on our faith journey?  Will we be able to sell the property?  Where will we move? Will our new location help us to grow in all the ways a church can grow?

I’ve had to learn to face my fear and that’s not easy.  I would much rather close my eyes and try to fight against the fear.  

Facing fear isn’t the same as fatalism.  The former is working for a good outcome knowing that the worst outcome is a possibility and the latter is basically accepting fate. 

We really live in fearful or anxious times.  We are worried about legitimate fears and some that are not so legitimate.  I watched the first hearing of the January 6 Select Committee and I could see that fear was everywhere.  The police that testified were facing fear and so were the rioters.  The difference is that the officers faced their fear and continued to do their duty.  The fear of the rioters, fear of a changing country, fear of those different from them, fear of the loss of economic security was almost fatalist, leading them to do whatever they could even if it meant crossing every moral boundary imaginable. 

Fear is normal to every human.  What matters is not that we have fear, but what we do with it.  Sometimes we want to ignore the fear and we enter into denial or take booze or drugs to avoid those fears.  Other times we allow the fear to drive us and join in movements that hurt others.  

The thing is, God is present with us when we face our fears. I think one of the things that scares me the most is worrying that I will face my deepest fears alone. But the reality is God, is with me so I am never alone. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. 7 Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus.”

Our anxiety over life isn’t going to go away. But I think Paul is saying, that we face our fears knowing God is with us and that when that happens, we can have peace. It’s not an escape from fear, but a sense that we face it with the God of the universe.

But the only way we can conquer fear is by going through it.  Not around it. Not avoiding it, but going through it.  When we go through fear, we might find out that our fear isn’t so bad after all.  When we go through fear, we might join in causes that can defeat those fears.  We might find the courage to destroy fear and make the world a better place.

As we begin this month of prayer, I ask that you face your own fears. Pray over your fears. Most of all, have faith that God will get you through the fears.

What’s the worst that can happen?  Possibly the worst or maybe not.  You won’t know unless you walk into the storm.

Notes from the Pastor: The Vision Thing

Note: The following was a letter sent to church members and friends in early June 2021.

 I hope you are enjoying this spring. The weather is starting to get warmer and as more and more of us get vaccinated against COVID, we are slowly starting to go back to “normal.” After 14 months worshipping apart, we resumed in-person worship again on May 2. I am thankful for the opportunity to worship with this church family in person after a year away.

During our time outside of the building, we used technology to create meaningful worship experiences on video. The resumption of in-person worship doesn’t mean we are stopping creating videos. We are live streaming our Sunday worship services which is a godsend to those who can’t make it to worship and it is also a vital outreach tool. 

Our Building Taskforce is starting to look into a possible sale of our property and move to another location. This process provide us with an opportunity to reassess who we are as a faith community in order to prepare for the next phase in the mission and ministry of First Christian Church of St. Paul. There are several things to evaluate and I will be sharing them over the coming months, but in this letter I’d like to talk about creating a congregational vision.

During the summer of 2018, we discerned who we are as a congregation and came up with a mission statement. It states the following:

“An inclusive family of God, creating and inspiring Christian discipleship through fellowship, community mission and love of Jesus.”

Our mission statement is our identity. If people were to ask what is First Christian all about, we can refer to the mission statement to tell them. A mission statement tells outsiders what an institution is all about.

A vision statement is different. It’s an internal statement that motivates members of a congregation. A vision statement determines how a church will fulfill its mission. Every decision is guided by this statement. It can give church members a sense of purpose that they are working towards something. If mission is about identity, vision is about destination. 

First Christian was going to start working on a vision statement last year, but this task was pushed aside during COVID. Now that we are worshipping in person, we have a chance to look at creating a vision statement again. 

Because the vision statement is different from the mission statement, it requires a different process. In this situation, the pastor is responsible for setting things in motion by helping to set a vision. That doesn’t mean they get to create whatever they want, but it does mean that by listen

ing to God, they can start the process of dreaming where the church is headed and invite others to join them in the journey of discovery.

What I am about to share is a not the definitive vision statement for us. Look at it as more of working or provisional vision statement. It becomes definitive after discernment and sharing what needs to be added or subtracted. So here is the provisional statement:

“Gathered for worship. Scattered for service.”

So what does this mean?

First Christian Church of St. Paul is a community that is gathered by God. Just as God gathered the disciples to become the church, God calls us together. When we are together we come to worship God, offer prayer for each other and the world and study Scripture. We aren’t a holy version of the Elks or Masons, but a community rooted in God and to remain rooted and ready, we come to worship. 

We worship for a reason. The gospel of Jesus isn’t just for us, but it is meant to be shared and we do that in our words, leading others to Christ and by our deeds by performing acts of charity and justice. We come together for worship to be empowered by God to scatter and serve our sisters and brothers.

That’s the vision. I will share more later, but I am looking to all of you to share your views. Spend time in prayer. Take the statement in and think about it. Please feel free to talk to me if you have questions or thoughts.

I hope the summer is a good one for all of you. God be with you in this time of beginnings. If you haven’t been to First in a while, come and visit us for worship at 10:00 AM. You can also watch us online by going to youtube.com/fccstpaul. 

I will talk to you in a few months. Godspeed.

Dennis Sanders, Pastor