Pastoral Thoughts for New Disciples

Devotional Reading:  Numbers 13:1-25 When I was in seminary we were tasked to write a consultation report about the church we attended. We were to look at the neighborhood in which the church resided, the structure and design of the building, and even the location of the parking lot and report back to our professor what we observed.   What I realized from the assignment is that I really knew little about this church.   I quickly discovered that the church is in the neighborhood where a movie I had used for youth ministry had been filmed.   I learned that most of our church members liked parking in the parking lot behind the church, which made it look like our church was empty on Sunday mornings because no one parked in the front lot. I noticed that a foot path had been made by human traffic walking between homes and the near by commercial center – and that our location gave us a great opportunity for hosting a neighborhood event.   These were all observa...

It has become part of my regular routine to look up commercial properties for sale on the SW side. Today, when I opened the listings on my phone a property that has regularly caught my eye was back on the market for a lower price.  I decided to drive over to the property. I pulled in and counted parking places and once again there were too few for a growing congregation.  Twenty-five in the building's lot.  Twenty-five across the street.  Not enough.  The building would also require the installation of an elevator and one of our goals is to be easily accessible for folks of a variety of abilities.  I sat in the parking lot and prayed. Then I drove to a second location. A building in my mind that was a perfect possibility, but very likely out of the price range.  I sat there and noticed the various ways it was deteriorating.  Remembered the inside of the building and how it would need to be remodeled to meet our needs. I sat and prayed.  "...