The Roundabout
I used to be partial to the roundabout as a traffic flow solution. The roundabout seemed stylish, European, and with no traffic lights, so very efficient! I thought it would be great to live in a neighborhood graced by one of these:
My opinion on roundabouts changed when I had opportunity to drive through the thick traffic of Rome, Italy, as a 24-year-old. It was terrifying. I struggled to know where I was going with the unfamiliar, Italian signage. Lane lines were not generally respected by the native Romans. Motorcycles and mopeds zigged through traffic, and the innumerable Roman roundabouts were always congested, nearly impossible to enter and — even worse — to exit. I felt like I was stuck in the middle of something like this:
I believe this sort of roundabout experience is an accurate parable for where we are in 2020.
We are indeed in the midst of dense, congested troubles and who knows where the exit is?
Who can say when we are going to get out of this thing and onto a new road?!?
In the midst of the 2020 roundabout, many of our old ways and methods of doing things don’t work as well as they once did. On the one hand, this is a grief and a loss. On the other hand, we’re living in a unique moment in which new, creative ways of living are being called forth. I believe that we as Christians are called to own the former and emphasize the later! Jesus did teach that the Gospel being like new wine, which can only be successfully stored in new wineskins.
Even at church, our old methods and models cannot work the way they did even last year. This is a grief and a loss. However, the good news — the great news — is that our mission remains the same: To help each person grow in Jesus.
To further this mission during the fall of 2020, we’re going to have to be more creative and experimental than ever before. Many of our worship services will be held outdoors in the East Parking Lot (click HERE for schedule). All of our worship services will also be available on LiveStream. Little Lambs will be offered as both a virtual and in-person experience and the in-person version of Little Lambs will be conducted according to the best health-and-safety standards that currently exist. Other ministries will continue in alternative or newly hybridized formats. New wineskins for the new wine of the Good News.
Speaking of wine, this weekend’s worship service will conclude with the Sacrament of Communion. If you are able to be there in person, pre-packaged elements will be provided for you. If you’ll be watching the LiveStream on Sunday, please prepare at home with some bread and crimson drink of your choice. I’m praying that this celebration of Communion will be used by God to help us exit the congestion of the roundabout and enter into a new season of promise and growth.
By God’s Grace,
Pastor Gregg