What do you think of when you
hear the word “Growing?” Are you
involved in that activity or just observing?
I think for most of us, most of the time, we would say observing. We see a plant grow, a child growing, hair
growing, and we have little involvement.
Even when we see farms, and we know that someone had a hand in that
growth, we tend to marvel at the change, the evolution, the growth as if it
were rather miraculous, and beyond ours or anyone’s control. And when it comes to living things, of course,
that is largely true.
Our new vision statement runs
contrary to this idea. Grow First
Baptist Church and its influence by reflecting Christ through hospitality,
community, dialogue, and service.
Here “Grow” is used as an active verb, and we are the subject of that
verb. We are the actors, the ones who
take the initiative and responsibility to bring about growth. (And by growth we
do mean numbers, but we mean more than that.
We mean depth, passion, mission, giving, prophetic witness, outreach,
etc. Indeed tending to the latter types
of growth will no doubt aid us in the former.)
Now, like plants, I think we do acknowledge that there are forces
involved that we do not control, but likewise we believe that if we will do our
part, that the most powerful force of all, God, will work with us and the
desired growth will come.
But if there is any confusion,
the three pillars of our vision plan remove any temptation to think that this
vision is someone else’s job. For those
pillars all begin with the word, “Build,”---Build the Future, Build
the Church Family, Build the Community. “ Build.”
Now, there’s an active verb that leaves little doubt that we all have
work to do. Building takes planning,
design, resources, sweat, effort and time.
And things built to last, require even more of all of the above.
Now, none of us has to build it
all. None of us can build it all. That’s not only a logistical truth. It’s the way God designed it, with different
ones of us resourced with different abilities and gifts, but each of us
certainly has our part to play.
I think of those fund raising
campaigns where a sidewalk, a wall, a monument is constructed with bricks, each
of them bearing the name of some donor who was willing to support the
cause. The Orpheum has one such drive
presently going on in which the bricks will be used to pave the atrium to the
Orpheum plaza entrance. It’s a powerful
symbol. It reveals what should be
obvious, that those bricks, and the wall or sidewalk or building they
constitute, didn’t get there by themselves.
Those bricks represent the collected gifts and efforts of untold numbers
of people, all seeking to bring about a common vision.
As we think
about growing First Baptist Church and its influence, as we think of what it
will take to Build the Future, Build the Church Family, Build
the Community…Where will your brick(s) be?
What pillar(s) will they be supporting?
How will you offer your gifts to be used? How will God use you to bring growth to the Kingdom through
the influence of First Baptist Church? How will you embody our core values of
Hospitality, Community, Dialogue, and Service?
We have a vision before us. We have a plan consistent with our
values. We have solid lay and staff
leadership to help us enact it. God is
with us. Christ is risen. The Spirit is active. We have exciting days ahead of us.
Grace, David
This article was written by Rev. Dr.
David Breckenridge and originally published in the May edition of
Together.