Happenings 28 May 2020

I was sitting with a group of Baptist pastors yesterday. It was the first time we had connected since the lockdown began, and as you might expect, the conversation quickly turned to how the different churches represented had experienced the last eight weeks. One of them talked about how he had heard it said a number of times that the Church (as in 'Global Church') would never be the same again. But then he pushed back on this a little. "I remember after the Christchurch earthquakes and all the devastation they caused people saying the same thing: 'the church in Christchurch will be forever changed by this.' And yet a short time later, what had happened? The life and patterns and foci of the churches there had pretty much reverted to how they were before the earthquakes." Human nature being what it is, we like the familiar and we dislike change. As a church family here at RBC, we are looking forward to worshipping together again in just over one week's time. This is super exciting!!!! But as we look forward to that, can we also be seeking God for his future direction by asking, "What has this time taught us?" And ...  "What needs to be retained and what needs to be changed about our faith community as we move forward from this?" And ...  "What insights have we gained to help us Glow, Grow and Go more effectively for Christ in our community and world?" If you have any thoughts, do please pass them on to me or to the oversight team. Please also keep your eyes out for communications over the coming week about how we will get together on 7 June. Chances are high that the shape of our services will be different in certain ways than what they used to be prior to lockdown because we will need to comply with Level 2 guidelines. Having said that ... roll on 7 June!

In Him,
Murray