A Lot to Be Proud Of

First of all, we would like to thank everyone for your cards and gifts during Pastor Appreciation Month. It is great to hear your words of affirmation and encouragement. Chanda and I appreciate each of you more than you know. It was also a great comfort to receive your cards and words of consolation concerning the death of my grandfather. You are a very caring people.
November is another exciting month for our church. We look forward to the Election Day Dinner (Nov. 2nd) and the Craft Show (Nov. 20th). Hoffman is also going to be the home of the District Regional Charge Conference this year. We will have 300 pastors and church members from all over the district coming to our church. It should be an exciting time. It is an honor to be given this privilege. It is something we could be proud of.

Our church recently received a letter from Bishop Ough indicating that we have met the criteria to be honored as an Acts 2 Congregation. We are one of only 204 of the 1,110 West Ohio congregations that grew in five of the following areas of fruitfulness:
-growing worship
-new persons professing faith
-persons being baptized
-persons engaged in faith-forming small groups
-contributing 100% of their conference apportionments
-growing membership
In his letter, Bishop Ough says, “Acts 2 congregations are bearing the same fruit we see in the early church. Acts 2 Congregations are open and responsive to the Holy Spirit. Acts 2 Congregations are making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” This is a great distinction. It is something we could be proud of.

Our 175th Anniversary Celebration was a wonderful time. It was great for us to reflect upon the many years of ministry of our church. We had 7 pastors, the bishop, and the District Superintendent present. We looked back at all our church had accomplished through the years. It is something that we could be proud of.

As a church, we certainly have A LOT TO BE PROUD OF, but—as many of you heard in a recent sermon (10/24)—pride prohibits our progress. Our pride comes when we look at ourselves in comparison to other churches. Our church is older than others. Our church is an Acts 2 Congregation, while over 800 are not. Of all the churches in the district, our church was chosen to host the Charge Conference. These are all things that we could be proud of, but if we focus on them, our pride will prohibit our progress.

As we look at our church, we should never compare it to other churches. We must compare our church to God’s purposes for the church. Our church should be the hands and feet of God in a world that is hungry and hurting. Our church should be the mouthpiece of God in a world that is lost and seeking. Our church should be the love of God in a world that is unloving and unkind. We must connect people with God. When we fail to accomplish this task, we should be humbled at the task that has been laid before us. A task in which there is always more work to do.

Please do not misunderstand me. There is nothing wrong with celebrating what we have done as a church, but we should never rest on our past accomplishments. We must look forward to the future that God has intended for Hoffman UMC that we may continue “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world” for the next 175 years.

Yours in Christ’s Service,
Pastor Justin