Countdown

 

I have about 100 days left to shepherd this body. It’s a common thing to look at the first 100 days of a presidency. I think that started with JFK.

My experience as a commissioned officer was that you had 30 days to know your job, and then 30 days to start making a difference.

But how we finish is just as important, if not more important as how we begin. The session is on a course to make the transition as smooth as possible. That may be seamless, or it might take a while. It is a process of discovery and discernment by both the church body and the candidates. It’s not just getting a person in the pulpit.

Next Sunday, we will bless the Search Committee at this service.  I don’t know that we have ever done that here. I’m not sure if many other church bodies have either, but it seemed appropriate to the task before them.

From what was discussed at the elder retreat, I think the session plans to fill the pulpit with messages from some of your elders. I remember the days when James Hendrix and I did that until Duawn got here.

It was enriching for us.  I have offered some transition planning and counsel to the session, but hope this one is received. Don’t just fill the time. Bring the message that God placed on your heart.

That applies to anyone who might take a turn, not just the elders. It is not public speaking, though it shares many qualities and aspects. It is the exhortation of the word.

That’s looking to the beginning of 2026.

Concurrently, in these last 100 days, I plan to offer for consideration and contemplation some things that I hope will survive my time here. These are things that have come up again and again over the past 18 years that I hope have some lasting impact and are worth further consideration.

Where to begin?

God loves you. Love one another. After giving out wristbands to the school kids that we shared the good news with in 2012, I thought I needed something to take to Africa with me.  GOD LOVES YOU – LOVE ONE ANOTHER was the ticket.

If it was on target there, how much more here?

GOD LOVES YOU – LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Is that the whole story? No, but it’s a segue to it.  There is story on both sides of those two phrases and a whole bunch in between.

We know that God is love and that he loves us. We know that love in Christ Jesus. We know that one of the best responses to receiving his mercy, love, and grace—all are truly love—is to love one another as much as Christ loved us.

The wristbands that we used to have—that seems to be something that will retire with me, but you will find something else, and I will continue to order them in my personal ministry—are not bling; they are beginnings to greater conversations.

So, I begin this countdown with God loves you. Love one another.

I plan to finish strong and to do the things that facilitate the future operations of this body.

I plan to finish strong and expect you to hit the deck running in 2027.

So, let’s begin these 100 days with GOD LOVES YOU. LOVE ONE ANOTHER.