State of the Church Report 2 6 2005
Edge of the Water
Exodus 13:17-14:2
Today I want to use the image of water to frame my annual State of the Church Report. For Baptists, water is the symbol of the cleansing of our lives when we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Whether it’s for only one new believer or many, we draw the water to fill our baptistry to celebrate the new life in Christ. Our namesake, First Chinese Baptist Church says it all: “Baptist” means dunking; the Chinese word literally means “dunking” too.
But we can also see the devastating and destructive symbol of water too. In our minds, we can still see the horrible images of the destructive power of the tsunami water that took the lives of over 175,000 people. The water washed away whole families leaving nothing behind. A small leak in your house would eventually cause water damage; costly to repair.
As you know, the image of water can be found in many places in the Bible. In Exodus 13:17, we see that after Pharaoh decided to let the people go, they took a roundabout way toward the Red Sea. They took the bones of Joseph with them because it was their history. A pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire during the night led them on the way. And when they got to the edge of the Red Sea—the edge of the water, they stopped. They have been wandering aimlessly in the wilderness and became confused about where to go.
2004 is Our Egypt
Our church is like the Israelites who have come to the edge of the water. Going into the water and trusting that God will provide dry ground is what every church needs to ask itself at its annual meeting. When God’s people got to the edge of the water, they remembered how good it was in Egypt. They had homes to live in, food to eat, jobs to work at, and graves for Joseph’s bones. They wanted to go back.
As we look back at 2004, it’s more like Egypt for us. We were very blessed with many wonderful things that reveal God’s love and favor for his ministry through our church. Here are 11 vital signs of our healthy church:
1. Surpassed our pledge goal in 2004
2. Netted 20 more members from 529 to 549
3. Surpassed 3 of the 4 annual offerings
4. Started a new worship service
5. Started the Senior Center
6. Sent people on mission trips to Asia, to conferences in Colorado and Urbana
7. Launched a new church website
8. Performed many mission projects including Christmas shoeboxes and sponsoring children through Compassion
9. Published a cookbook
10. Installed a permanent awning
11. Established a Seminarian Scholarship Program
If we chose to stay in 2004 like how the Israelites wanted all along to stay in Egypt, we may continue to see more of these wonderful things happening to us. But a report on the state of the church must never leave us static and still. God’s people are always on the move and definitely not in captivity.
One of the earliest Christian symbols for the church is a boat. The nature and purpose of a boat is to be out in the water. It only comes into dock for supplies. The church as a boat needs to be out in the water even when there are rough seas or a tsunami. It can’t just be a fair weather sailing boat that only launches out when the sky is blue and the wind is calm. The church as a boat is not afraid.
When the church is a boat in the middle of the sea, the church is doing its work. Remember after the resurrection how Jesus standing on the beach saw the disciples out fishing. You can’t find much fish from the docks. The fish is out there in the deepest parts of some rough waters.
2005 is at the Edge of the Water
Today you heard about some of the wonderful things that God blessed us with last year. But 2005 for us is like that moment when the Israelites were at the edge of the water. Will we in faith and with the promise of God that he will always be with us, step into that water and know that it will be dry ground?
When the 125th Anniversary Committee completes its planning and helps us to remember our cloud of witnesses, the saints of our church like how the Israelites carried the bones of Joseph out of Egypt, will we also carry the wisdom, faithfulness, heritage of these saints into our future with us? We are going to evoke all of these heroes of the faith, but will we have a place for them in our future? I pray that we will.
In 2005, the pillar of cloud for us is the recommendations coming from the Long-range planning committee to emphasize and mobilize for missions. We hope to send commissioned missionaries out into the world from this church. The pillar of cloud is the real possibility of adding much needed permanent space to the facilities that we have and the opportunities to use them for soul-saving ministries in Chinatown.
The pillar of light for us is the excitement of calling two new church staff persons to climb aboard on this little boat called FCBC to help us to steer our ministries of outreach into the community and to navigate the growing ministries to young adults and the new 9:30 worship. The Deacons and the pastors are excited about what God has in store for us. I believe that God is here with us leading the way for our ministries to be effective and faithful to his plan. Just like God stayed with the Israelites and led them on their way, God is doing the same with us.
Now we are at the edge of the water. While the threats of Pharaoh’s armies are approaching, we can choose to take a more roundabout way to avoid them. We can carry the legacy of our Baptist forefathers and foremothers with us and have no place for them. We can try to just stay at the edge of the water as long as we can. Or we can step into the water with the faith that God will provide us with dry ground.
Stepping into the Water
As Baptists, we are people who should not be afraid of water. In 2005, I pray that we will step into the water even when it feels like the dry ground is not there yet. If we are
to hire two part-time staff persons,
mobilize for missions,
look for property and possibly launch a new capital fund campaign,
send the Gospel Choir to sing at the ABC Biennial in Denver,
celebrate our 125th anniversary, and
sponsor two mission teams to Thailand,
we are going to be very busy! These are just the new things that will be added to all of the existing and ongoing ministries that we have already year after year!
In Psalm 69:1, the Psalmist praying for deliverance from persecution said, “Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.” There will be times when it will feel like the water is up to our necks!
Remember the story about Jesus telling the disciples to get into their boat and meet him on the other side? (Matthew 14:22) Jesus went up the mountain to pray and by the time he finished, he was alone by himself. By this time the wind has battered the boat far away. When morning came, Jesus terrified the disciples by walking on the water toward them. Peter trying to test if this was really Jesus said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Jesus said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and started walking but when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened and started to sink, crying out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus reached out his hand and caught Peter before the water came up to his neck. Remember what Jesus said to Peter? Jesus said, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” We may not meet Jesus until we get out in the water.
We must have faith that Christ will be there when we step into the water. It may sound frightening to hear about all of the new ministries that we will be about this year. But we must never doubt God’s plan for us even when we might have water coming up to our necks. The promise of God is that the dry ground will be there. As we enter into this memorable year, we pray that the bones of our forefathers and foremothers will have a place to rest and remind us of how thankful we are.
The theme for our 125th Anniversary Year is “Abounding in Thanksgiving!” (Colossians 2:6) Because we have received Christ Jesus the Lord, we commit to continue living our lives in Christ. We are rooted and built up in Christ. Our faith is established in Christ. Having learned this, there is no other expression but to say that we are “Abounding in Thanksgiving” in the Lord!
Join me to step into the waters in 2005 to meet Jesus Christ!
Let us pray.
O Lord God, you have led us to the edge of the water and we pray that with faith and trust in you, we will step in to accomplish your mission in the world through our humble ministries. Help us not to be afraid but to turn our fear into a passion for missions. Lead us to make the Good News of Christ Jesus, Lord and Savior for all, known in the streets of Chinatown and beyond. We seek your blessings on each one of us today as we once again commit ourselves to work for your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.