The End of an Era?

When you are on a team of eight with no reserves in sight and two of your best players leave it is a rough blow. It could even be considered a killer blow.

Last night Ed preached from Acts on the growth of the early church. He challenged our small congregation to the task of that type of Spirit lead growth. It was he and Jan's last service at Hope and their last as a part of the "team" which they have lead for nearly 20 years here in Sorocaba.

Now the question comes, "What happens after the 'end of an era'?" Many times a team that loses a top quality player (or players) loses it's potential to win, or at least loses the winning edge. In other cases we've all seen teams that have grit their teeth, rolled up their collective sleeves, and worked even harder to win, and have succeeded at just that, winning!

As I observed our service last night I watched with bittersweet emotions. Realizing that life is change. That is one part of life that makes it interesting. But also realizing that we were seeing transition in action and with transition comes change. Our team goal now (my goal) is to keep our united gaze on Christ who never changes!

I believe that this transition will bring out qualities of leadership in our team that we have yet to realize. When things are going well one hesitates to "rock the boat". On the other hand when one is forced to change and the need for a more intense focus is perceived, great things can happen.

I am truly thankful for the time that the Lord has allowed us to work with Ed and Jan and I know that there will be many times ahead where I will pick up my phone to give Ed a call, only to realize that he isn't in Sorocaba anymore (thank the Lord for email!). But I am thankful too, that God is at work and can use the members of our team who are still in the battle here. While Ed and Jan will be battling in Curitiba to teach and train workers for the harvest field, our team will be battling to see that our people realize the need for a closer walk with the Savior. And, we will be battling to send our folks to Curitiba for further training.

As Ben was sharing in last evening's service, one aspect of Ed and Jan's ministry that he mentioned was the number of lives they had helped to influence with the importance of Bible College training. There was a time in the recent past where the churches here in Sorocaba had more students in Curitiba than any other church in the State of São Paulo (or Brazil for that matter). That didn't come by accident. It came as the results of years of constant ministry, prayer, and encouragement. In one word, "influence".

So, end of era or not, we are still a part of the same team! We want to run with patience the race that has been set before us.... We want to see our flock succeed in the Christian life. We want to influence some of them to seek further training at Bible College. And, we know that the Captain of our team (Jesus Christ) wants to see those same things to happen.

The End of an era?

When you are on a team of eight with no reserves in sight and two of your best players leave it is a rough blow. It could even be considered a killer blow.

Last night Ed preached from Acts on the growth of the early church. He challenged our small congregation to the task of that type of Spirit lead growth. It was he and Jan's last service at Hope and their last as a part of the "team" which they have lead for nearly 20 years here in Sorocaba.

Now the question comes, "What happens after the 'end of an era'?" Many times a team that loses a top quality player (or players) loses it's potential to win, or at least loses the winning edge. In other cases we've all seen teams that have grit their teeth, rolled up their collective sleeves, and worked even harder to win, and have succeeded at just that, winning!

As I observed our service last night I watched with bittersweet emotions. Realizing that life is change. That is one part of life that makes it interesting. But also realizing that we were seeing transition in action and with transition comes change. Our team goal now (my goal) is to keep our united gaze on Christ who never changes!

I believe that this transition will bring out qualities of leadership in our team that we have yet to realize. When things are going well one hesitates to "rock the boat". On the other hand when one is forced to change and the need for a more intense focus is perceived, great things can happen.

I am truly thankful for the time that the Lord has allowed us to work with Ed and Jan and I know that there will be many times ahead where I will pick up my phone to give Ed a call, only to realize that he isn't in Sorocaba anymore (thank the Lord for email!). But I am thankful too, that God is at work and can use the members of our team who are still in the battle here. While Ed and Jan will be battling in Curitiba to teach and train workers for the harvest field, our team will be battling to see that our people realize the need for a closer walk with the Savior. And, we will be battling to send our folks to Curitiba for further training.

As Ben was sharing in last evening's service, one aspect of Ed and Jan's ministry that he mentioned was the number of lives they had helped to influence with the importance of Bible College training. There was a time in the recent past where the churches here in Sorocaba had more students in Curitiba than any other church in the State of São Paulo (or Brazil for that matter). That didn't come by accident. It came as the results of years of constant ministry, prayer, and encouragement. In one word, "influence".

So, end of era or not, we are still a part of the same team! We want to run with patience the race that has been set before us.... We want to see our flock succeed in the Christian life. We want to influence some of them to seek further training at Bible College. And, we know that the Captain of our team (Jesus Christ) wants to see those same things to happen.

With the end of an era come new horizons.