January Letter 2007

The Christmas Season came and went. I hope and pray that the excitement, festivities, and celebration did not leave you stressed, disappointed, or exhausted. But it may have. Traveling, family interaction, planning, and preparation are time-consuming and energy-depleting endeavors. As the New Year sneaks up on us, my prayer is that whatever our circumstance, we find renewal and hope in the opportunities and potential that lie before us in the days ahead.

We prepare now to usher in the coming year. Many of you will celebrate the New Year with friends and family, while others will choose a more solitary approach. Regardless of how we decide to spend our time at the brink of the New Year, let us remember the comforting Hope that the it brings. This coming year is an opportunity to re-commit ourselves to the up-building of God's Kingdom; to the Divine work of the Most High God. It seems certain that we will find ourselves in situations testing our commitment to God's Kingdom. This might occur on a personal level, as we individually battle the difficulties and obstacles of maintaining a dedication to a Kingdom that requires sacrifice and selflessness. It might occur on a more communal level, as we struggle collectively to expand God's Kingdom. For there is much sacrifice and selflessness that accompanies a community: compromise, compassion, willingness to change and adapt.

It seems evident to me that a staunch opposition to change comes at the expense of other's emotions, spiritual health, and communal sanctity. If the church is dedicated to up-building God's Kingdom, then it requires we situate ourselves in a spirit of community. The spirit of community is inclusion: the effort to bring in those who otherwise do not belong. Inclusion has two sides. First, it seeks out those who have yet to belong. Second, inclusion seeks out those who already belong. Both of these factors must be present in order to build-up God's Kingdom.

How then, do we strive after both of these aspects of inclusive community? Well, quite simply, we elevate the sanctity of the community above our own desires and selfish aspirations. Good intentions can become soaked in selfish ambition when the result is excluding members of God's Kingdom. The only way to prevent selfish individuals—which we all are—from dominating a community is to hold fast to humility. We must humble ourselves before the community at large, God's Kingdom, so that we might serve as Christ called us. This means that “change” might occur, if it is in the interest of the community at large. In fact, Christ demands that change should occur, for this is at the heart of spiritual transformation. Those transformed by the Grace found in Christ should not be opponents of change, but should see the power and importance that change brings; for our own change in Christ brought us Hope.

Ultimately we must recognize that change should be guided by compromise and compassion, a submission to God's greater desire for a completed Kingdom. How we want things and how we have always done things do not make them the best now as we strive to continue the up-building of God's Kingdom. If change never occurred then we would not find ourselves living the very lives we enjoy. Change is not only inevitable, but necessary to growth, development, and God's Kingdom. Thus, we must be both accepting of change, but also cognizant of how we change. We change in the spirit of community, inclusively aware of those inside and outside our community. We change with humility, so as to keep our selfish ambitions in check. We change in Hope; in the hope that God's Kingdom will be made complete through our efforts, sacrifices, and servitude. As the New Year comes upon us, may we re-commit ourselves to God's Kingdom by embracing change, humility, and a spirit of community. For we have Hope that in this coming year, God's Kingdom might expand and move ever closer to completion.