Hello, Church!

We look to the future as a church with a sense of urgency, but not anxiety. In doing so, we’ve been doubling down on the mission of being on a journey together with Jesus. We want to be a church that provides for anyone who seeks it, a way to follow Jesus daily in life. Our urgency is not based on who gets elected on Nov 5. Our urgency is based on making a way for people to follow Christ. To follow Christ daily in life, we at BG have purposed to employ three tools: 1) to rely on the scriptures as the authoritative narrative that gives vibrancy to our spiritual life. 2) To practice the way of peace by committing to compassionate candor – caring deeply for one another and challenging one another directly. 3) To serve our neighbors near and far with generosity in the Name of Jesus.

Serving our neighbors certainly includes the constant and steady invitation to join us at Blooming Glen in the worship of God, in fellowship with one another, and in service to all. But it is also a recognition that Blooming Glen has been blessed with enormous resources. We sit on 80 acres of crops, woodlands, a beautiful meetinghouse, a historic cemetery, and additional buildings for housing and programs. In this church, we belong to deeply connected family heritages, some of which go back over 275 years in this nation. We maintain healthy balances in our bank accounts and have zero debt. In short, we are blessed by God with land, legacy, and lucre In abundance. We have also been blessed by God with financial savvy, business acumen, and spiritual discernment to be creative in how we utilize our resources. God is positioning us to employ our resources for kingdom purposes with creativity.

One way we have begun that process is to call a team of ministry coaches. While we still have two more part-time coaches to hire (for family engagement, and children’s ministry), we have employed Denny Gross, Ezekiel Otieno, and Jen Yoder to do two things: 1) Recruit, equip, deploy, and support teams that reach out to our local neighborhoods through events in our neighborhoods and on our campus, to young adults though small groups, and with high school students through a focused ministry of fun activities that set the stage for spiritual friendships. 2) In addition to our REDS strategy of ministry, these coaches are also called to actively seek to build relationships with unchurched and dechurched neighbors, young adults, and youth, walking with them to establish and restore relationship with Jesus.

We are ripe with opportunity. While the world still struggles with a lack of a guiding narrative, with community polarization, and with the digital screens that are full of knowledge but don’t point us to wisdom, the church is uniquely positioned to offer the Jesus story as a meaningful narrative that offers an abundant life, while forming unity instead of conformity, and pointing to wisdom. In the months ahead, our Church Together efforts are going to call the church back into its New Testament role of people in ministry and reach out to those who have become alienated from faith. It’s time to become urgent in our gospel witness without becoming anxious about the future.

Let’s go, church (and answer the call to serve by being and making friends)!

P.S. | A couple of opportunities are still on the calendar for sharing whatever is on your mind. I’ll be at the Broad Street Grind this Friday, November 8, 3:30pm-4:45pm. Thanks, John Derstine, for filling in for me last week because of Mosaic Conference scheduling conflicts. I’ll also be at the A&N Diner on Monday, November 11, 7:30am-8:45am, for listening and sharing. On November 12, Debbie and I depart for a trip to California. I’ll be working remotely on Blooming Glen issues and working on-site on Mosaic Conference issues. Deb and I return to Pennsylvania on Friday, November 29. I’ll be back at the A&N Diner on Monday, December 2, and the Broad Street Grind on Friday, December 6.