This week, I was asked to write a letter to the church that I planted in Lansing. So I did my best Paul impersonation, and this is what came out.
********
Hi friends – brothers and sisters in Jesus. I’m no Apostle
Paul, but I was asked to write you this letter.
Your love for one another is always a blessing to hear about. I feel that I left the church there just as it was entering its glory days. I know that is probably too broad of a brush, but as someone from afar, I am envious of the community you experience and the love you share for one another. I pray for that love to continue to flourish.
I remember an early church gathering where there was just three of us. My wife, Dan Harris, and I. And I’ve thought about that moment a lot lately for some reason. Because I think that it was the moment where I was the closest to just giving up before the church really even came to be.
And then I think about what would have happened if I had just thrown in the towel. You wouldn’t be where you are tonight gathered together. And it amazes me. Humbles me. How just deciding to persevere in something God has called us to is somehow so important.
Now, I’m a little detached from your community there these days. I did watch the Yankees last week with John and still chat with Tom. Because of that distance, I can’t speak directly to anything going on there. But I want to offer this word of encouragement.
Don’t give up on the thing that you feel God is calling you to. Whether that is in your personal life or whether that is as a church. God has a mission for you. And we often have this idea of God being a god who forces His will. But He doesn’t. He waits for faithful people like you and me. People who will continue on even when they don’t feel that what God is calling them will ever materialize.
Because here is the bold truth of our faith. If God has called us to it, He will complete it. We just have to remain faithful and not give up. So remain faithful. God’s work through you all is just beginning. Be faithful even when it feels impossible. Love one another. Love your neighbors.
It was always my passion that the church there would be a church that would reach people who weren’t being reached by the church as it normally functions. That community would flourish. So may God bring more and more of those people in your path and continue to build your community.
Grace and peace to you all. You really hold a special place in my heart. And may that grow and grow as you continue to serve our same Lord and Savior. May God bless you as you pursue Him and His will together. And may you always have the boldness, courage, and bravery to remain faithful to His calling no matter what the circumstances.
Your love for one another is always a blessing to hear about. I feel that I left the church there just as it was entering its glory days. I know that is probably too broad of a brush, but as someone from afar, I am envious of the community you experience and the love you share for one another. I pray for that love to continue to flourish.
I remember an early church gathering where there was just three of us. My wife, Dan Harris, and I. And I’ve thought about that moment a lot lately for some reason. Because I think that it was the moment where I was the closest to just giving up before the church really even came to be.
And then I think about what would have happened if I had just thrown in the towel. You wouldn’t be where you are tonight gathered together. And it amazes me. Humbles me. How just deciding to persevere in something God has called us to is somehow so important.
Now, I’m a little detached from your community there these days. I did watch the Yankees last week with John and still chat with Tom. Because of that distance, I can’t speak directly to anything going on there. But I want to offer this word of encouragement.
Don’t give up on the thing that you feel God is calling you to. Whether that is in your personal life or whether that is as a church. God has a mission for you. And we often have this idea of God being a god who forces His will. But He doesn’t. He waits for faithful people like you and me. People who will continue on even when they don’t feel that what God is calling them will ever materialize.
Because here is the bold truth of our faith. If God has called us to it, He will complete it. We just have to remain faithful and not give up. So remain faithful. God’s work through you all is just beginning. Be faithful even when it feels impossible. Love one another. Love your neighbors.
It was always my passion that the church there would be a church that would reach people who weren’t being reached by the church as it normally functions. That community would flourish. So may God bring more and more of those people in your path and continue to build your community.
Grace and peace to you all. You really hold a special place in my heart. And may that grow and grow as you continue to serve our same Lord and Savior. May God bless you as you pursue Him and His will together. And may you always have the boldness, courage, and bravery to remain faithful to His calling no matter what the circumstances.
