Walking by Faith

Friends of The River,

Well, these past two weeks have been an exciting, yet very uncertain time in the life of this fledgling little church-plant in Ellensburg. For the past 18 months, in the midst of a seriously difficult time for the American, not to mention worldwide economy (can I get an amen?)... The River Church of the Nazarene has been learning how to stand on its own purely as a self-supporting, self-sustaining, self-funded, self-aware Christian ministry. And like a wobbling newborn calf struggling to stand up, it has not always been pretty, but I do believe we are beginning to gain some strength in our spiritual legs.

But Jesus calls us to do more than stand, right? At some point, almost every infant that was ever born grows bigger and stronger to become a toddler – learning how to walk, even run to where they desire to go. During our worship service last Sunday, my good friend Jim Carlson came to talk to us all about dreaming big dreams, overcoming the American religious disease of consumerism, carefully analyzing our priorities as kingdom citizens, and learning what it means to honor the Sabbath Day as cross-bearing, modern-day Christ-followers. Then a representative group our church board presented some factual, yet troubling and eye-opening numbers with everyone present. Certainly not your typical worship service!

Essentially, we as the pastor and his family have come to the conclusion – with God’s help – that we can no longer underwrite such a significant portion of the church’s ministry.  Either by faith or by ignorance (or both), we have managed to dig a financial hole that threatens to bury us if we continue down that path – which is definitely not the path of good stewardship or good citizenship. Trust me though… we certainly recognize the amazing generosity of some people that call The River their home. If it weren’t for a few deeply loyal families investing sacrificially and keeping this church financially afloat, our church would definitely not have been able to stay here as long as it has. But as a church body, The River has never been what would be generally considered an overly giving church… at least, not so far. But (hopefully anyway) our story together is not yet finished being written. Not even close.

In the next few days, “members” of The River (actually we have no formal membership at this point) will receive a letter explaining our need for “pledge cards” to be filled out and turned back in to the board by Sunday June 17. If you are a frequent visitor, and have any love for the church that is The River, then I implore you to read the letter very carefully, pray unceasingly, talk with your significant other (when applicable), and fill out the pledge card as an act of faith, knowing that the future of our crazy, mixed up, often dysfunctional… and yet wonderfully awesome church body is directly tied to the larger group’s financial commitment from this point forward.

We have big dreams, goals and vision for this little corner of the world. We want to be a vessel for God to bring revival and brilliant light to a lost and wounded… and dark place. But before we can fly on wings like eagles… first, we’re going to have to learn how to walk and not be faint. A significant breakthrough is right there for the taking. I know it is. It’s in our grasp, and most of us can feel it in our bones. 

But let's be honest - it will take a seriously giant act of faith on our part. Aren’t you glad we serve a God who does miracles? A God who provides? A God who know our heart… and loves us anyway? A God who calls His people, empowers them to share the kingdom message, and destroys the enemy who roams the earth seeking to steal and kill and destroy? Let’s not let the enemy win. Let’s keep this adventure going. Let’s be like Peter, who, upon seeing Jesus walking on Lake Galilee said, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” And he did! Okay, it’s true… he only took a few steps before he began to sink like a lead balloon… but think about it… Peter WALKED ON WATER!!! Wouldn’t you like to do that just once in your life? Wouldn’t you like to defy logic, and the law of gravity, and all doubt, and confound the senses… by reaching out in faith and following Jesus?

You can. I believe we’re at THE pivotal time in the life of our church. We can either step out of the boat and walk, like Peter. Or we can stay in the boat like the other disciples, and never know what it’s like to really live in that moment. God doesn’t call us to be safe… He calls us to live dangerously. The question is… do we have what it takes to obey?

Also, if you consider yourself to be a friend of The River, and would like to help ensure that we can meet our financial mandates by “pledging” an ongoing monthly amount with us, or through a one-time gift to our church – please let me know and I’ll be sure to contact you... with glee. Again, our all-important deadline is less than two weeks away, June 17.

Thank you everyone, for giving my family the high privilege of serving these past five years as the pastoral family of The River. Regardless of what happens from here… may the seeds that have been planted through this experience continue to spread, take root, and grow to become mighty oaks of righteousness in this place… and spread to the outer parts of the world!

Amen… may it be so!