I love spring! When we've experienced that last cold snap of the winter, and trees and bushes begin to blossom, and the wildflowers begin to push their heads through the ground, the advent of spring puts a new spring (pun intended!) in our step. The gray, cold, and wet days of winter are past, and the promise of new life appears. The Hymn of Promise (UMH, no. 707) says it so well: "In the bulb there's a flower; in the seed, and apple tree; in cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free! In the cold and snow of winter there's a spring that waits to be, unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see."
In a sense, it is always spring in the church. That hidden promise lurks just around the corner. Spring unfolds with new life, the promise that anything can happen. For me, it's a magical time. I anticipate the coming baseball season. On the first day of the new season, all 30 teams are undefeated, and all 30 teams have the chance of being world champions. Spring is about hope. It is about renewal. As the second stanza of the hymn quoted above says, "there's a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me." I like that!
As for the church, we're always on the cusp of new and exciting changes. As we came out of the season of Lent and the joy of Easter, anything seems possible. It's a time when we can dream big dreams, or as my colleagues John Flowers and Karen Vannoy say in their book, Adapt to Thrive, stopping taking baby steps and begin to make giant leaps. The early church was not risk-adverse. After the early disciples initially gathered together in hiding following the crucifixion, they began to speak and act boldly.
And the church is called to do the same. Church is a risky venture. While we may want to play it safe, for the church to become the bold and divine instrument God created it to be, It must have a bold vision (dreaming the impossible dream) and take bold steps. "Business as usual" no longer (and hasn't been for a long time) is an option for the church. Too often, the church is waiting for the "proper moment" to act. If truth be told, that moment will never come, as that kind of cautionary waiting generally can be attributed to risk-adverse community of faith.
So, who are we? What are our dreams? What is our vision? Where is God calling us to be? The time to act boldly is now, not some time in the future. If the church (and as I have been throughout this essay, I speak of the greater church) is going to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, now - not tomorrow - is the time to begin. There is a world hungering to hear the good news. There is a world in need of engagement from the followers of Jesus Christ. The time is now. Are we ready? I believe we are. See you on this exciting journey of discovery.
Grace and peace,
Mike
April 19, 2015