Dear Caldwell,
On Sunday, we began a two-part sermon series thinking about lessons learned in the wilderness – the times when God’s people were in a literal wilderness and the times we have been there ourselves. God’s people have often experienced desert wandering, from the children of Israel on their way to the promised land to Christ’s temptation in the desert to the far-reaching travel of the first apostles. We also know times of personal wilderness, times when we feel separated and disoriented, whether our wilderness is spiritual, relational, physical or emotional.
How about you? What have you learned in those times? What has stuck with you from Biblical stories of God’s people in the wilderness? Sunday, we remembered that God is always with her people, wherever they are; that in the wilderness we often make bad choices, as in idols and other false religions; and, that, quite often when we find ourselves separated from what is comfortable and familiar, God is preparing us for something, a word from the Lord that comes in a soft whisper.
I’d love to hear your thoughts, questions and lessons learned in the wilderness as I think about part-two of the sermon series this Sunday. Shoot me an email at pastor@caldwellpresby.org and/or engage with me and others over on our Caldwell conversations Facebook page (click here).
It’s not hard to imagine wilderness these days. These are desperate days in the life of our nation. We live in the tension of the “urgency of now,” wondering what we can DO, and the need to see in faith beyond the crisis we are witnessing. That’s a tough balance to try to achieve. I closed my sermon Sunday with an idea from the theologian Karl Barth, the notion of “disciplined hope.” He wrote;
The Christian hope is the most revolutionary thing that one can imagine, and next to it all other revolutions are only blank cartridges. But it is a disciplined hope; it puts people in their place. Where they can be quite restless and at the same time quite peaceful, where they can be with the others in the congregation in which the members recognize each other in longing and in humility in light of the divine humor, there they will do what has to be done. In this way the church moves with patience and with haste toward the future of the Lord.
Taking the Vows
On Sunday, we ordained and installed five new serving elders and said “thank you” to four outgoing elders who have served Caldwell mightly in the last three years. All of the vows (called Constitutional Questions) are important but there are two that, for me at least, have special importance:
- Do you promise to further the peace, unity and purity of the church?
- Will you pray for and seek to serve the people with energy, intelligence, imagination and love?
Those are questions we can all take to heart as we navigate these frightening times in the life of our nation and seek to be the body of Christ as Caldwell church, a place with a unique calling in our city. What do those words mean to you: furthering peace, unity and purity? Serving with energy, intelligence, imagination and love?
Whether it is leadership from among our laity or our ordained officers, I am always compelled by the passion of this congregation and the gifts that come from our widespread diversity. I hope you will thank our outgoing elders (Eddy Capote, Jamie Hofmeister Cline, Jonthan Hardin and Peg Robarchek) and reach out to our new elders to ask how you can help (Jefforey Best, Congregational Care; Amaka Nwadei and Elizabeth Ireland, Discovery and Engagement; Robbi Walls, Administration and Personnel; and Rob Hammock, Christian
Formation.).
Mark your calendars for the Souper Bowl of Caring lunch Sunday after worship as we support our youth in their efforts to feed the hungry in Charlotte.
Don’t forget to send or share you own lessons from the wilderness.
Watch for Caldwell This Week on Friday.
In Christ,
John