Weekly Update from the Senior Pastor
November 16, 2006
Dear Family and Friends,
This evening (Thursday) at 6:30 p.m. is the memorial for Richard Burch.
The Damascus United Methodist Church is allowing us the use of their sanctuary for a memorial service. In place of a printed program, each person attending will receive the handwritten list of projects that Richard dreamed the bikers in our area might do in cooperation with Damascus Road Community Church . It is literally his last will and testament, the vision of a baby Christian, written over a drink, minutes before he died.
What becomes of those ideas will rest on the decisions made by the hundred plus bikers Richard hoped to hook with his vision. So please do what I ask now: pray for their hearts as they mourn the loss of a brother and for their futures as they consider what God is speaking to them through this tragedy.
This coming Sunday we’ll celebrate once again the spirit of a miracle.
On the human side of the divine/human equation it is the miracle.
It comes in many forms and at many levels in many different situations. Overall it’s pretty rare, which is why it is so potent as a witness. It is the miracle of a person that trusts God so much, his trust moves him to action—even to what appears to be very risky or sacrificial action—in obedience to a defined calling by God. It is an inner miracle reflected in an outer boldness and it defies just about every message the world gives. It runs counter to instinct. It’s those three Hebrew guys walking into a furnace; or Caleb and Joshua strolling among a bunch of giants, whispering: “we can take this place,” or a hungry little boy a long way from home handing Jesus his one and only lunch.
It’s a lot of things, but at its core it is one thing. It is saying yes to the realization that a real God has a specific, sacrificial thing for me (or us) to do for His glory. It appears in so many forms, but you can always sense the real deal when it happens.
If we build our “Light on a Hill” there will be a group now that steps up to that miracle.
Generosity in humans is beautiful, but sacrifice from us is a miracle.
This Sunday evening a circle of 120 will decide. On December 3 rd, the rest of our congregation will decide. In each case, our first decision will be to show up; our second to step up. There is so much about our congregation (and its pastor) that needs to mature, but my prayer for those two appointments has been the same for all of us since we began this journey:
“LordJesus, please sweep aside every tempting excuse, slick rationalization, misguided notion or “proud thought raised up against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:5) and help us each, without shame, or fear, or guilt, to prayerfully seek Your heart for our part in this journey.”
Each person or couple or family that embraces that prayer is a miracle, a home of light.
Love ya,
Richard
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