Pastor's Message

August 2003

On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright flew the first powered airplane flight. It was short and almost inconsequential, compared to the developments in flight achieved over the past 100 years. Who could have imagined, in 1903, jumbo jets that would carry hundreds of passengers across the oceans to other continents, or even aircraft that would take men and women into space, to the moon and back, and probably within a few years, even beyond. Most of us will not go that far, some of us still are reluctant to board an airplane for travel, and some still refuse to do so. It isn’t for everyone, but it certainly has changed the world for all of us.

In 1903, Henry Ford began working on an idea he called an assembly line. His dream was to build one of the newest inventions, called an automobile, efficiently and in a large enough quantity so that anyone who wanted to buy one could afford to do so. His automobile, called the “Model T” became the most popular automobile ever built, up until the production of the Volkswagen “beetle.” Today, almost every home in America has at least one automobile, with many families owning more cars than there are licensed drivers in the household. We think it strange to hear about families that live in large cities today who do not have a car, relying entirely on public transportation.

From small beginnings, incredible change has permeated our whole society. You can each probably think of other illustrations, such as electricity, the telephone, computer, microwave, or during hot summer days, air conditioning. Of course, not every wonderful new idea has brought about such significant change in our society. It took years of dedication and hard work, by dozens, hundreds and even thousands of people before any of these modern conveniences became a part of our daily lives.

This is how the church works as well. God’s gift to us, his only Son, Jesus Christ, was the most wonderful thing that ever happened to the human race, far more significant than any of the human ideas and inventions listed above. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has spread throughout almost the entire world. Christ has been preached in almost every language. Churches have been established in almost every nation, and in almost every town, city and village in our country. But it took hard work and sacrifice on the part of many people, who had dedicated their lives to Jesus, to make this all happen. God’s blessing, resting on those who have dedicated themselves to the church of Jesus Christ, who in turn have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to continue building the church, has so permeated our society that even those who blindly deny the existence of God, still accept God’s commandments and many of Jesus’ teachings as the foundation of their daily lives. This is how God wills that the Gospel be spread – through faithful people. There are very few instances where God dramatically appears to a person to convert them. Perhaps Saul comes to mind, as he was converted on the road to Damascus, but even then, a disciple of Jesus by the name of Ananias went to Saul to “help remove the scales from his eyes” (see Acts 9:1-20). People of vision, following the Lord Jesus, are always ready to plant seeds of faith, building the body of Christ, which becomes the greatest legacy one can pass on to future generations.

2003 is more than half over. What have you done so far this year to transform the lives of people around you? What have you done to leave a fitting legacy for the next 100 years? I don’t think any of us have invented a new means of travel or anything comparable to the technology in my previous illustrations, but we each have the ability to do something that will leave a legacy, for another individual, or for the church. It might be simply inviting others to come to church, to join our church or to become more active in one of the programs of our church. Your legacy to the church might be in the form of a cash gift to the endowment, or including the church in your will. Or your legacy might be in terms of service – teaching a Sunday School Class, serving on a committee, helping start or build a program of our church, or bringing your vision for a new area of growth for our church, and then following it up with dedication, hard work and commitment.

Before the summer is over, take some time to read a good book, a fascinating book – read the book called, “The Acts of the Apostles.” You will find the story of a number of men and women who gave of themselves to establish the Church. And then ask yourself the question, “What am I doing this year to help establish a legacy for the future of our church?” Your contribution may not change the world, as the automobile and airplane have done over the past 100 years, and it may not be included in any book, such as “The Acts of the Apostles,” but each one of can do something to leave a positive legacy for future generations.