Pioneering: Meditations for Transforming Our Carlisle
United Methodist Church
Number 29 June
30, 2013
When History Begins
Forget
the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now
it springs up; do you not perceive it? I
am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland… I provide water
in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my
chosen. Isaiah
43: 18-20 (excerpts)
Have I not commanded you? Be strong
and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God
will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua
1:9
On May 25, 1787 the Federal
Convention closed its doors and opened the first official session that would
result in a radically different outcome than that originally intended. It was that body working throughout a warm
and humid Philadelphia spring and summer which would create the U. S.
Constitution.
The delegates from the thirteen
United States, then loosely joined by the Articles of Confederation, were ordered
by their respective states to simply prepare improvements to that document. There was no intent to change the status quo,
simply to make it a bit more functional.
As that convention began, the
most popular and respected American, George Washington, framed the situation
this way:
“It
is too probable that no plan we propose will be adopted. Perhaps another dreadful conflict is to be
sustained. If to please the people, we
offer what we ourselves disapprove, how can we afterwards defend our work? Let us raise a standard to which the wise and
honest can repair. The event is in the
hand of God.”
Similar words could well have
been uttered on that legendary snowy night in January 2011, when
representatives from our three Carlisle churches met to listen to Jim Randall.
Over the past thirty months, the
co::Lab, the Transition Team, the focus groups, the Leadership Council, the
pastors and we of the three campus fellowships met, prayed, discussed,
differed, consensed, and crafted the new vision of a unified United Methodist
fellowship that would be active in mission and ministry to all, whether they
are family members or not.
Along the way we wrestled with
what the vision of unification and service meant, and how it could be made to
happen. Very quickly into the process it
became clear that if this was not Holy Spirit driven, we would fail. Also, very quickly, we realized that there
was a strong force of Evil that set about to frustrate and divert, to divide
and fracture our fellowships.
The Bible is full of changes to
the status quo. Creation was a change
from Chaos. Abram was told to leave the
status quo and travel to a place known only to God. Moses was called to lead the Hebrews out of
the status quo. And the biggest status
quo change was the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. That spawned the revolution we call the
church.
Whether we are recreating a
nation or uniting our church fellowships, the times call us to realize that
status quo may well need to be ignored.
This is vitally important in listening to the voice of God, and in
fervently seeking to do His Will.
In our journey through the
wilderness the Holy Spirit has led us away from decades of status quo, and toward
the “New Thing” Isaiah described. It is time
for us, for Carlisle Church, to raise the standard to which all persons of
faith can rally for building bridges and serving Christ in a broken world.
We are creating more than a
faith community, or a structure where we can worship and learn, and marshal our
efforts to grow, serve and connect.
While we were trekking through this wilderness, we, like the children of
Israel, were disciplined, nurtured, and grew in our personal relationship with
God.
Each of us has struggled with
what these things mean, especially with how these changes affect us. But have we also taken stock of what this can
mean for those outside our fellowship who need our witness and invitation to
join with Christ? This new thing is not just about us!
Now we are about to step into a
new relationship with Christ and with each other. The die is cast. The choice is made. Next Sunday we will stand before all of
Carlisle, our neighbors, our sister churches in town, our Conference, and
people we don’t know in far-off places who learned about what God was doing
with us. Nervous? Unsure? Wanting it to go away? Wanting to
live in the status quo for a little longer?
What did God say to Joshua? Don’t
worry, Josh, I’m going to put this off till later? NO. God said “Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid; do not be
discouraged.”
Think on this: We
cannot cling to old things when God offers us a new thing. This
is one of the most significant lessons we learn from reading the Old
Testament. The Isaiah passage
underscores this; the Joshua passage equips us to go forward and cross our own
Jordan River. And Christ tells us simply
that old wineskins cannot be filled with new wine.
Tomorrow, the doors of the
Allison, First, and Grace buildings will close, and the doors of our
transitional facility, our Wilderness Tabernacle, will open as Carlisle
UMC. And the work in which the Holy
Spirit leads us continues.
We are writing a new chapter in
the history of Christ’s church in Carlisle.
Let us pray that it is a history of which we can all say “This was the
beginning of our finest hour,” and not “We were frightened and discouraged, and
let the moment pass from our hands because we did not fully trust God.”
We have come this far by faith,
and we have arrived – for now. So, for
now, let’s unpack and make camp here. Let’s
raise our standard to draw others to Christ.
And let’s begin our mission to build bridges in this community. As with all the days behind, and all the days to
come, This is the day the
Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be
glad in it.
A
point of personal privilege: I am deeply
grateful to the Holy Spirit for inspiration and restraint; to all who made
these meditations possible -- to the office managers, to my editor, to you who
encouraged me and saw the points I was trying to make in the meditations. May God bless all the days of our Carlisle Church
family. Let us write a history that will
be worthy of Acts chapter 29.
Common
Prayer. Pioneering and Ever-loving God, by Your grace
You have brought us to this new place and time in our fellowship and
witness. Unify and embolden us; nurture
us in warm-heartedness and trust; and defend us from all evil as we live and
witness for you as Carlisle Church. AMEN and AMEN
Prayer
Focus. The Fairgrounds Worship Event. And come join the Bridges Prayer Team every
Wednesday in the Library.
Charles L. Reynolds 