Basics

Every time I sit down to think about and map out sermon series, I have one primary concern in mind: Whatever the season, whatever the emphasis, it needs to be about basic things, things like evangelism, outreach, Christian living, holiness, or going deeper with God and each other. I have had a few series that went beyond the basics, such as when I did a series about mental health some years ago, but even those serve the basics – in that case, the basic idea it served was to help create a welcoming environment for everyone.

This fall will be no different. I have mapped out two series – one called “Becoming Salty” beginning the first Sunday of September, that will look into biblical images of salt to talk about the nature of the church – that we are here to transform the world. The other one, starting at the end of October, is “Body Language” that will look at how the Holy Spirit empowers the church to be salty. What ties both together is that the Holy Spirit, along with the Word (Jesus as we discover him in the Bible), makes our mission possible. While it may sound complicated, these series are basic in that the teaching all revolves around Trinitarian theology – the theology of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We are also going back to basics in terms of children’s ministry this fall. When we resumed from Covid closures, we had lost many of our children and families, and Cindy Robinson stepped in to cover the gap by opening up a children’s church that spanned from 10:15-11:15, and also ranged from 2 or 3 children to as many as 15. Since that time, nearly two years ago, things have changed, and we have formed an ad hoc (temporary) team to come up with a better plan. In its simplest form, we are returning to the old practice of Sunday school, creating a new class for older children – see the announcement about September 10 promotion Sunday for more details. Down the road, in a few months, a year, or a few years, we’ll need to come back to the drawing board, especially if God blesses and increases the ministry, but even then, we will need to look at the basic question: “How can we help our children become disciples of Jesus Christ?”

Every great movement of the Church, from its founding at Pentecost through the Reformation, to Methodism, to the present day, has one thing in common: Going back to the basics: What do we need to know, how do we need to live, and what practices do we need to have in order to be disciples of Jesus today? I encourage us all to keep this question front and center every time we look at changing, expanding, developing, and continuing ministries. They will guide us, by the Holy Spirit’s power, to the answers God will bless and honor.

It is an honor to be part of our vibrant church, making Christian disciples and enriching lives through outreach.