Land In Between

As I look back on the week, the thoughts on being on the land between have risen in multiple venues, conversations, and "work" things.  And it is not always a comfortable place.  As pastors we are preparing a sermon series on Wilderness Wanderings, looking at the Israelites journey in the wilderness.  They were called and equipped by God to leave their land but the journey and location of their next home was uncertain.  They wandered for forty years; sometimes happy the old was behind, sometimes reflective on what they missed about home, and sometimes downright mad at God that they weren't "there" yet.  Does this sound and feel familiar?  I know some days as we think about and work through the transition of three churches into one church, I feel all those emotions.  And then I get out of bed.

Then later this past week, as I was looking for something else in my office, I saw a video with a clip from Jeff Manion.  He spoke at a Leadership Summit a few years ago about living in and through the land between.  A funny speaker, he pointed us to Numbers 11 and thoughts about the people complaining to God about progress.  Reading in a whining tone, likely pretty accurate for their words, he reminded us that the Israelites were lost and whining and had an unpleasant journey too. But then he continued to remind us that God's arms are never too short to reach us.  God's patience is never to swift to leave us because of our attitudes.  Even in the journey, when we feel most alone and annoyed and just plain tired of the travel, God is beside us.  Are we looking for God?  Are we looking for God beside us in the journey of transformation and transition?  Are we looking for God in the journey or just in the end point?

Being on the Transition Team has been a blessing, a struggle, a joy, and a challenge all together. Many emails a week remind us how to progress.  Meetings are abundant as we each are tasked with overseeing areas of the focus group work.  Yet, in the midst of it, the 12 leaders from the churches are working together in remarkable ways in this journey; unsure where we will end up but knowing and trusting and seeing God along the way.  As we thinking together, pray together, listen to each other, and hear from our congregations we are reminded we are not alone.  The journey is long. The destination is unknown (we know a unified church but all else is to be determined).  The path not straight.  Yet God is with us. God is guiding us.  And God has blessed us to be on this journey together...with a wonderful Transition Team focused on the future and possibilities and God's call ahead, and congregations who can see that something new is coming, a vision of a unified church focused on Growing together, Serving our community, Connecting with old friends and new friends, and Worshipping God together is what we anticipate for the future... and with God's blessing what a new land we will encountered!