Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Faith, Vision, and Church Attendance

Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Our hopes and our dreams for the future help lift our humanity to the fullness of what it can be. Tony Campolo says, One of my favorite characters in the Bible is Abraham. He is in his late nineties when he has a vision. In my own imagination I can just see this old man waking up one morning, nudging his wife, and saying with a shaky voice, “Sarah? Sarah?” The old lady, who was at least ninety-two, probably responded in a groggy fashion, “What is it, Abe?” “I just had a vision”, says the old man. “What kind of vision, Abe?” asks Sarah. “I just had a vision of a new world! A new humanity! A new people! Sarah, you and I are going to create a whole new epoch in human history!” “How does this new humanity start?” asks Sarah. “Glad you asked!” smirks Abraham in response. Imagine the next scene: It’s this ninety-four-year-old man, probably limping along with a walker holding him up, alongside his ninety-two-year-old pregnant wife. (If you don’t think God has a sense of humor, this should change your mind.) “Where are you going, Abe?’ people ask. “I don’t know”, the old man answers. “Well then why are leaving?” they yelled back at him. “BECAUSE GOD HAS GIVEN ME A VISION!” shouts Abraham.


God has given us a vision for the future of our church, also. A vision filled with life and hope, to reach this vision though it will take hard work and for people to be willing to share in the vision. My first two Sunday’s at this church our attendance was 60+. Last Sunday, we only had 28 people show up; half of you couldn’t make it to church. God deserves to come first. This is your church and to make it a success it will require you to show up.