May 1, 2023

“47 They praised God and demonstrated God’s goodness to everyone. The Lord added daily to the community those who were being saved.” – Acts 2:47 CEB

“34 There were no needy persons among them. Those who owned properties or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds from the sales, 35 and place them in the care and under the authority of the apostles. Then it was distributed to anyone who was in need.”

– Acts 4:34-35 CEB

Dear Christ Church,

Pastor Josh preached a great sermon on the above passages about the early Christian church recently as part of our ongoing worship series on Acts. In these passages, we read about the early church’s growth and daily life together. It is clear as we read about the Holy Spirit’s movement in this community that extraordinary things were happening as people worshiped together, ate together, studied scripture together, shared with one another and generally “did life together.” As Pastor Josh shared, the power of Jesus’ resurrection is in the power of relationship; God’s relationship with each and all of us and our relationship with one another.

We live out this Good News about relationships every day in our individual lives and in our collective lives as part of Christ Church United Methodist. We were able to do this in a powerful way during Holy Week and Easter. What a great experience it was to see more than 80 Christ Church members and friends come together during this time to serve one another and our larger community so that we could together celebrate and live out the Good News of Easter: the tomb is empty, and love and life prevails over sin and death. It was good to see so many of you in worship throughout the week, whether it was in our sanctuaries at either campus or in the gym or on the field at our Fort Lauderdale campus. Hundreds of people from our community of all ages and a wide range of demographics came to be together and to celebrate. Thank you for making it happen!

Last month, I shared that we have been working on key priorities of who we are as a church, specifically our identity and areas of focus. It is our hope that who we are guides and impacts what we do and how we do it. Here is a reminder of what our staff came up with:

Our Priorities

• Our Mission Statement – We are an inclusive and diverse community experiencing and reflecting the love, hope, and joy of Jesus to one another and our community.
• We are grateful.
• People first
• Growth – numerical and spiritual depth

As part of that work, we said that there are several catch phrases that will help us live out and be the church we all desire to be. Here are those as a reminder:

Our Catch Phrases

• Our Mission Statement
• We get to!
• 70/30! (I’m willing to be uncomfortable 30% of the time so that others might have a chance to be comfortable).
• Relationships change everything.

During Holy Week, Easter, and really always, we try to live into these priorities and catch phrases. We intentionally try to connect with our community and one another because, as the passages from Acts show us, “relationships change everything.” As Pastor Josh reminded us in his recent sermon, the key to relationships is making time to be in the same proximity with others. The more you, and we, are intentional about making time to show up and be with one another, the more we and our church will grow. I generally try not to make too many broad promises, but I am convinced that this statement is true. If you, me, and we prioritize showing up and being with one another, we will grow. Growth, as the staff pointed out, is also one of our priorities as a church.

Also, on display during Holy Week and Easter were our other two priorities.

One of my favorite conversations was with one of our volunteers. I thanked him for his time and being present with us. Without hesitating he responded, “Thank you for having me. I’m so grateful to be here on Easter doing this.” He was grateful and indeed was experiencing and reflecting the love, hope, and joy of Jesus.

Friends, God is moving in our midst, and you and others are responding. As one quick example, we recently celebrated two adult baptisms in the life of our church, nine adults joined our congregation, five youth were confirmed, and eight more adults plan to join our church this month!

I recently had a lunch with a leader from the LGBTQIA+ community here in South Florida. At the end of our conversation he said, “It is so refreshing to have a conversation with a Christian like you.” Wow!

Christ Church and friends, we are a church community that is full of “Christians like you.” I am honored to help lead us all. I’m excited that I get to do this critical work. Why? Because there are millions (literally) of other people here in South Florida looking for Christians who love them, who accept them, and who are filled with and willing to share the love, hope, and joy of Jesus. We get to do this, everyone!

I teased last month that in addition to catch phrases that we want to use, our staff also came up with a few phrases that we DO NOT want to use; we want to STOP using them. Here they are:

• Us/Them – (we are one)
• We used to…
• Before COVID…
• That’s not my job.
• We/I don’t have enough….time, money, people, etc.

Have you caught yourself saying these? I know I say and think them from time to time. I encourage you to join our staff and myself and take these phrases out of your language. These are phrases that, if we say them, we then believe them, and they then shape us into a different people and church than what God is calling us to be. These phrases, and the mindset that accompanies them, do not foster growth, relationships, or gratitude, let alone love, hope, and joy. So, join me in getting rid of them.

As we do so, I am convinced that God will continue to work through us in extraordinary ways just like God did in the early church.

Let’s get to it!

Have a great day, everyone.

Peace,

Nathan Adams

Lead Pastor