Dear Christ Community

**I recently finished reading a biography of Eugene Peterson’s life. One of his rhythms during his time as a pastor was to write a weekly letter to his church. It reminded me a bit of the “Monday Memo” and inspired me to turn this week’s edition into a letter from me to you, Christ Community!

Dear Christ Community,

It was so good to gather with so many of you yesterday! Every time we gather I’m reminded of the weaving together of stories God is doing..

Some of you were coming off hard weeks of work.

Some of you were coming off weeks that were emotionally or spiritually taxing; dropping kids off at college, battling health issues, fighting for health in your marriage and parenting relationships.

Some of you are excited to be there while some of you are wrestling through deeper questions of purpose and identity hoping that maybe this gathering will be the one to point you in the right direction.

As I walk through the building we gather in with you, my mind often races while scanning the room. At some point, I remember that there are details to remember for the upcoming time of worship.

Yesterday was one of those Sundays where I found myself grateful for so many who serve so well in so many ways. People were everywhere completing tasks and preparing lessons. I was reminded that the real ministry, the real connection of souls, often happens in these unscripted moments of serving together. God’s so creative in how he works..

I marveled at how we rolled from a song that felt like I should have a piece of straw in my mouth to a piece of modern worship. Voices rang out on both. Unified by the God worth singing to..

I thought I knew Kaleb. And then he so profoundly talked about how we often build castles and avoid slip and slides. Isn’t God really good at writing stories? My heart needed to hear his..

I love mining through the treasure trove of God’s faithfulness in the book of Ezra with you. Mostly, I’m thankful for your patient love and tolerance of my own heart’s journey through the text. I left our time in God’s Word this week, just hoping that God would call us back to a daily awareness of the opportunities he’s giving us to go out and build his kingdom. That’s where the joy is.

Even as I stressed about how long I had preached and how long the gathering went and those poor souls giving themselves to teaching our young people, I found myself with refreshed gratitude for our deacons. They want to care for us in the simple ways. I found myself being convicted to let them.

And then we go..

Some of us to planning and decision making meetings.. some of us to family lunch.. some of us to other activities. A few might even sneak in a nap! But we go.

Later in the afternoon, I come across a post from one of our preschool moms celebrating the week she'd had with her kids and the preschool "Prayer Bear." How cool is that! Thinking about this alongside our invitation to pray for the approximately 40,000 Shelby Countians without an active relationship with Jesus made me realize that no matter how young or old, we all need help simply learning to love God.

It reminded me of  a quote from Peterson (who inspired this letter) that I want to close with:

[My] first conviction [about being a pastor] was that everything in the gospel is livable and that my pastoral task was to get it lived. It was not enough that I announce the gospel, explain it or whip up enthusiasm for it. I wanted it lived—lived in detail, lived on the streets and on the job, lived in the bedrooms and kitchens, lived through cancer and divorce, lived with children and in marriage. Along the way I found that this also meant living it myself, which turned out to be a far more formidable assignment."

Christ Community, I’ve got some work to do this week. I’ve got to get the gospel lived - in my own life. 

Until we meet again,

Pastor Blake