Consider the Ways We Can Answer God’s Call
With the increasing number of unwanted phone calls that we all receive on a daily basis, most of us are choosing not to answer unless we recognize the number. Likewise, when we order online, we are reluctant to participate in any of the online surveys that follow because they can interrupt our day and invade our privacy.
Nonetheless, businesses and other organizations continue their efforts to gather as much data about us as possible, and that includes soliciting our opinion and our preferences on a range of topics and products so they can develop effective marketing
strategies.
The church is similar in many ways. Although we try to not be invasive, and we certainly don’t gather data about you surreptitiously, we are interested in your preferences — what you like and what you don’t like, what inspires you and what doesn’t. All of this helps us to develop our worship, education, outreach, and missional plans for the church.
The Book of Acts (20:28) speaks directly to our role as members of the church with this passage: “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”
This simple, yet profound, passage speaks poignantly about how much God values His Church. It was not built just of human hands but “with his own blood.” Therefore, it is our responsibility to passionately care for the entire flock and to make sure that the church remains accessible to all people.
With that in mind, we are looking for your feedback and your direction as we plan for 2022, and it all starts this weekend. Our objective will be to not only discuss what we can do, but just as importantly, how we can encourage others to become involved in the
life of the church.
Following our service this Sunday, we will entice you to join us in Fellowship Hall with our monthly Fellowship Dinner, after which we will have a very brief presentation about where we think we are and where we might be headed in 2022.
We encourage you to join us if you are able. If you have time to prepare a modest dish or dessert, please do so, but either way, please consider coming to the dinner and the presentation.
As we know from Scripture, specifically Proverbs 16:3, if we “commit [our] work to the Lord…[our] plans will be established.” Let us then commit our work to the Lord as we make plans to grow individually and collectively in the coming year so that Oak Chapel may become the vibrant church it once was and so that it may serve God’s people for generations to come.
Until We Meet Again, Be Blessed! – Pastor John