The Past..The Present..The Future
Dear Friends and Family of Hilton Baptist Church,
I recently spent some time on vacation. There were a few excursions I wanted to be sure Karen and I took together during this time off. One of the day trips we planned was a drive to Letchworth State Park.
When we arrived we were given a booklet which included a park map but also included advertisements for various attractions located outside the park. As I was skimming through the booklet there was one advertisement that caught my attention.
It was a black and white photograph of an old building with “Livingston County” across the top of the picture. At the bottom of the photograph were these words:
“Proud of the Past,
Working for the Present
and Planning for the future.”
Although I was on vacation and really tried to give my brain a break from anything related to church business, I could not help myself. This quote immediately brought me back to Hilton Baptist Church. Isn’t this what our church, or any church, should be about?
“Proud of the Past” – No church is perfect, nor will it ever be. However, there should be a sense of pride as a church reflects on the hard steps of faith taken to be the people God has called it to be in order to influence the community surrounding it.
“Working for the Present” – Together we should be actively involved in where we are now and who God wants us to be today. We seek to become a stronger, healthier and more committed group of Jesus’ followers at this moment. We strive to be a community that is proud of its past but is not a prisoner to it.
“Planning for the Future” – As a church we must continue to ask the tough questions such as “Who is God calling us to be and what difficult decisions need to be made so we get there?” and “If we stay on this path, where will we be in ten years?”. A more personal question may be “What kind of church will I be passing on to those behind me?”
How can we take the pride in our past and the hard work of our present to make a brighter future? I believe this is what we have been working on at HBC and we must continue to do so.
Together let us continue to be proud of our past and the hard lessons we learned to be here today. Let us celebrate the God who has called us and recognize the steps of faith that both our ancestors and we have taken to be the church we are now.
Let us continue to work on the present to be the very best church we can be for Christ today. Let each of us have an active presence in the present.
Finally, let us plan for our future and continue to ask the tough questions. I recently heard someone say “If you do not live with intention, you live with reaction”. Together let us be intentional in planning for our future.
The journey continues and together we go forward…
With Peace and Grace,
Dan
Categories: Pastors Message