During our recent Sunday School kickoff, two of our young members approached me with joyful excitement, eager to share that our Sunday School has a new name: "Pastor Dan, we’re part of the FROG SQUAD—'Fully Relying On God.'" I had a few thoughts in that moment:
How fun! I love frogs. Kermit is my favorite Muppet.
Does this mean we get to have a St. John’s frog mascot? Maybe I’ll surprise Pastor Peter with a new amphibian friend.
I want everyone to feel this excited to be at church!
As a member of the Grand Canyon Synod staff, I attend many worship services—ordinations, installations, and even combined installation and ordination services. One service always stands out in my memory for two reasons. First, I was 10 years old. Second, I was part of it! Our church on Long Island was calling a new pastor, fresh out of seminary, to be our associate. Pastor Bruce asked me to participate in his installation service by holding a shell as the newly called pastor processed through the sanctuary—first to the baptismal font, then to the pulpit, and finally to the table.
At the font, I waited eagerly for my turn. I was excited to get it right and honored to have been asked. When the time came to hold the shell, an elder member of the church took it from me. I stood there, confused, feeling like I had done something wrong. But then Pastor Bruce took the shell right out of the man’s hands and explained that it was my role to help him remember his baptism.
I remember that moment in worship not because of the importance of the service or because that was when I decided I wanted to become a pastor (that realization came over 10 years later). I remember it because I was excited to be in church, to help, to serve. If Pastor Bruce hadn’t ensured I had space to do so, that flame of excitement could have been snuffed out by someone who, I’m sure, was just trying to help, but who was maybe a little too "froggish" in their approach.
We are an intergenerational church. Every Sunday, when I lead worship, I feel like I learn something from four different generations. Where else in modern society do we get to do that—learn from someone younger than us and older than us, gain the wisdom of a seasoned traveler, and share in the spirit of someone seeing the world for the first time? What a blessing it is to be a community in Christ.
In this new year we will experience mountain tops and valleys. We will lose beloved members of our community and at times our FROG SQUAD will learn that sometimes it’s not easy being green. Yet, we can trust in the promise of Jesus to work through us and our community. Let us remember that we cannot hold the Holy Spirit steady in our hands, dictating exactly how it should work and through whom. But if we aren't careful we sure can lock it up in a cage...
The energy among us now is the Holy Spirit transforming our hearts, breaking down the barriers of age, gender, economic status, or even whether we’re a dog person, a cat person, or a frog person. I’m reminded of what I was told with such excitement: to Fully Rely On God. Because God is working through our love for one another and the shared wisdom of faith, we are all in the SQUAD.
Pastor Dan Potaznick
Associate Pastor for Outreach
Proud Member of the FROG SQUAD
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