The Messenger - September 23, 2010 - Timing

Pastor's Corner

"Timing"

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
(Ecclesiastes 3:1)

I was reminded of these immortal words from Ecclesiastes recently when thinking about several questions people are asking me at church:

when will we get to see the latest revisions of the sanctuary redesign committee?

when will we hear the results of all the Zoe parties that were held last summer?

when will the cell tower project be completed?

At the risk of being trite, I'm afraid I have to quote Frank Baum's wicked witch of the West: "all in good time, my dear. All in good time."

Regarding the sanctuary redesign project, the committee in charge of this project had planned to show the congregation all their test revisions to this plan after worship this Sunday, September 24. Some of these revisions were approved by session just a few weeks ago. We sent them promptly to the architect, but he was suddenly called out of town on an emergency. Thus, he is not able to provide us a detailed cost analysis and an accurate color rendering of these revisions by Sunday morning. Therefore, the congregational forum must be postponed for at least 2 weeks.

Regarding the "Zoe parties," our Acts 16:5 team has been working hard to sort through all your comments and discern the specific areas where God wants to bring new life (i.e., "zoe," in Greek) to our church. A number of these team members are getting excited about the possibilities, but they still need a bit more time to work. Nonetheless, they will publish results as soon as possible.

Regarding the cell tower project, "Technology Solutions," the company that installs cell phone equipment for groups like AT&T, has begun to suggest some changes in the placement of their heavy equipment. If these changes are, in fact, necessary, additional negotiation may be required. Moreover, the Presbytery of the Pacific (our regional governing body) suggested 3 changes in the lease agreement that AT&T has not yet approved. These changes may also delay our final signature to this lease.

Even though I quoted "the wicked witch" in my 2nd paragraph above, I do not think that it is wicked to allow a deliberate pace for big projects. Just as I believe verse 1 of Ecclesiastes 3 ("there is a time for everything"), I also believe verse 11 ("God makes everything beautiful in its time"). We don't need to rush God in these efforts. We just need to trust God and pray for those God has called to launch new projects in our church. I hope you will join me in that effort through the coming weeks.

I'll see you on Sunday!

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