The one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” (Revelation 21:5)
The resurrection of Jesus disrupts everything. We are used to organizing our lives around death. Think of all the money and energy that goes into prolonging life. A quick google search will reveal that even flossing your teeth can be organizing your life around death! But Jesus is alive! Christians organize our activities not about defending ourselves from death—Jesus already has done that better than we ever could—instead we organize around serving our neighbors and giving God credit for life. We don’t think of school so we to get a job to pay the bills (even though that still happens), but to gain knowledge and skills to serve others. We don’t think of a job to keep food on the table (even though that still happens), but to serve people with our time and talents. We don’t think of rest and recreation in terms of our own pleasure (even thought that still happens), but that God may fill us up with energy and restored relationships in times of fun and distraction. The resurrection is a disruption in how we think and act, a creative disruption because it leads to new growth and life!
From May 20 to August 30, I’ll be on sabbatical. Dana, Ruth, Esther and I will be on a “Footsteps of the Apostle Paul” tour in Turkey and Greece until June 7 and then I will share stories and pictures at St John’s worship the weekend of June 15-16. Then, Dana and I will be going to California to visit family, move Ruth to Colorado for her new job, and then spend the rest of the summer in the White Mountains of Arizona. During this time, Pastor Dan will be at St John’s two weekends a month and other local pastors will help preach and lead worship as well. St. John’s members will be visiting those in sick or in crisis—so if you would like someone to visit and pray with, please call the church office at 623-931-2451. If you can help out, please also call!
The purpose of the sabbatical can be summarized by 3 R’s: for both pastor and congregation to step back and be Refreshed by God’s grace, Reflect on God’s vision and mission, and Review our activities and rationale for doing them. So much has changed over the last 5 years. We need a time of creative disruption to allow God to restructure our thoughts and activities.
And the sabbatical will cause some disruption—but this too will give rise to new creativity and leadership. I encourage you to engage and not to withdraw during this time and to be patient with one another during times of disruption. We will have a prayer and Bible study book that will follow the tour of Paul’s ministry. Please use it to pray and to be refreshed, to reflect, and to review what we do and your role in the St. John’s community of Christ-followers. On Saturday June 8 from 9am to 2pm, you are invited to participate in a “Refreshing St. John's” Day for activities and discussions to accomplish those same goals for the church.
In the Fall, we’ll have a series of opportunities to come together and discuss what we learned, and ask God to lead us into the future. We can be excited about the future because the risen Christ is leading us there!
Grateful for the opportunity to be refreshed, to reflect, and to review
Pastor Peter