Tomorrow we start off the Thanksgiving season early with our Thanksgiving potluck. Every year we come together and bring our friends and feast honoring God for the blessings for this last year. We are having it early because it is easier than switching our potluck day, and also so that those who cook have a little bit of a gap between the big meals! Also as part of our Thanksgiving service we have an extended time of praise and testimonies. It is our opportunity to publicly say thank you to God for all that he has done. I hope and trust you are thinking about what it is you will give God the glory for tomorrow. But I wanted to start off by saying thank you to God today for our church.
When I start thinking of all the reasons why I am thankful the list gets really long. I try (sometimes more successfully than others) to keep this little encouragement relatively short. It would be impossible for me to think of all the reasons I am thankful but here are a few that rise to the top this morning.
I am thankful for the powerful team of leaders we have in this church. Sometimes pastors feel like they are battling their leaders. They feel like they are trying to cajole them into doing things. Other times pastors feel like leaders see themselves as the gatekeepers, money holders, and voice of reason to restrain that overly passionate pastor. Thankfully that does not in any way describe the powerful team of leaders we have. In every ministry of the church the leaders we have are passionate powerful people who are excited to be doing what they are doing! I look forward to the interactions, board meetings, and coordination meetings, because I always come away from them feeling stronger than when I went in! And God is using these leaders!
I am thankful for the spirit of our church. You know when you come into a place you get a feel for it. The ethos of a church is like the aroma of hot apple cider or freshly baked bread. You walk in the door and you feel it you sense it, you taste it. When we do the greet song every week, you really don’t want to stop. And after church the buzz and fellowship, the laughter, is just awesome. People are happy to be here. They are not coming because they feel obligated or forced, and when guests come in, I can be confident that they are greeted, welcomed, and embraced as if they had been here for 20 years! It is not accidental and we did just happen to fall into that, it is something you do every week. It is so beautiful and I am so thankful for it.
I will end with this last one. I am so thankful for a church that loves challenge. Our church is not a pew potato church. We are not the sort to just sit back and be spectators. When I introduced Vision 2020 and the flags on high mountain peaks, I did not get the response of “Dream on Pastor Chris” with a rolling of the eyes. Instead people talked about how they could be a part of it. How they could jump into it. They were thinking of what they could contribute. It was simply beautiful.
I could go on, but this is already too long. I want you to know from your pastor. From my heart to your heart, how thankful to God I am for this church. I am proud (in a good way) to serve and thank God constantly for who you are and where we are headed together!
Get your thanksgivings ready I look forward to hearing yours tomorrow!
Pastor Chris
