Pastor Steve Turnbull – Senior Pastor Report September 26, 2021 I wish you could hear the encouragements I sometimes hear from people who encounter our congregation. Let me share a few with you: 1. I got an email recently from someone in central Ohio, just a little far out from Columbus, who encountered some news from UALC. And they took the time to reach out to me and say, “If I lived in Columbus, I would want to be part of your church. Man, do you all live out Christ.” Friends, that does my heart good. In the midst of our own human brokenness and imperfection, if other people can see Christ shining through the cracks, then I can sleep well at night. 2. Within the last month, I’ve had two unexpected conversations with younger families who started worshiping with us during the pandemic. Both encouraged me about the vision they have heard about here, and more importantly that they experience coming into reality among you. Because of that they are finding their church home here – and inviting others to join them. 3. We ourselves, of course, are not accomplishing these kind of things. Anytime any of us get a little sip or a deep long draft of living water, it is the gracious gift of a good, good God. What we have here is an Oasis of his making. We have what Isaiah 41 describes: “The [e]afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none, And their tongue is parched with thirst; I, the LORD, will answer them myself, As the God of Israel I will not forsake them. 18 “I will open rivers on the bare heights And springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water And the dry land fountains of water. Isaiah 41: 17-18 We have the living water that Jesus promised a thirsty Samaritan woman, and it wells up in us, overflowing to eternal life. Allow me to remind you that four things are true about this this calling and this gift to be a “see how they love one another” Oasis of God’s Kingdom in a dry and thirsty world. 1. The first and most important thing is what I’ve already said because I can’t help but say it. It’s God’s Oasis. This comes from him by his grace. And all we can say is thank you; thank you; thank you Lord for your grace and power. 2. Second, God makes us to be an oasis community. A family of people in relationship with one another, learning to live life together in the way of Jesus by the power of the Spirit. And this is not the easy way. This is the narrow way. This doesn’t mean we all hold hands and hum kumbaya and everything is easy. This is the way of the cross, the way of costly forgiveness, the way of reconciliation in relationship. If unity and love were easy, you’d see it everywhere. But you don’t. Jesus died for it, and it takes the Holy Spirit of God to empower it. But it’s worth it. It is the coming of the Kingdom among us. 3. Third, it’s for sharing. An Oasis is not a fortress. We carry water out and invite others in.
4. The enemy doesn’t want this for us. And there is an enemy. There is a desert. And we will find mirages of life and happiness to be tempting. But there is nothing as sweet, refreshing, and life giving as the gift of the Lord Jesus. We are running after this vision, that we will get to be a people so well-watered in the love of Jesus who loved us and gave himself for us, that people will say about us, “See how they love one another,” to the glory of God and the salvation of many. That’s why we make the decisions we make. For example: •
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That’s why we work hard to overcome the forces that divide us in our culture. And those forces and lines of division are everywhere, and half the time they crisscross each, dicing us up into ever smaller groups of fear, anger, and suspicion. But there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. And we are being built together into one temple in which God lives by His Spirit and one body together, of which Jesus is the head. And so, we learn to love our brothers and sisters across the things that would otherwise have divided us. And it’s not easy. But it’s holy. That’s why we pursue increasing unity in our worship life, even though it comes with challenge and costs of various kinds. We sing together, pray together, learn together, confess together, and eat together from one Table. In a different way, it’s why we made the choices we made on July 4th. It made me sad that one of the July 4 parades were scheduled on a Sunday morning. But I was grateful to be able to say to our community leaders, “This isn’t how we’d prefer to do it, but we love our community. And so, we’re going to prioritize worship together and still figure out a way to serve and celebrate with our neighbors. So how can we help?”
It’s the same spirit that’s been in our longstanding commitment to generosity as a congregation. We’re careful not to manipulate this into a marketing campaign, but that means sometimes that people don’t know very much about it. But here within the family, where it’s not a marketing campaign, let me encourage you that we give away SO MUCH money and time to bless other people. Such a radical act of your generosity that’s been a part of this congregation’s history for a very long time. And it’s not about us. We feed the hungry, house the poor, clothe the naked with dignity, visit the imprisoned, and preach the Gospel in word and deed. And we love like this
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simply because God first loved us. Thank you for your faithfulness, your love for one another, and your faith in Jesus Christ. And this vision is why so many of us get together in small groups, the ministry of which is mostly invisible to most other people, because they’re small! But we spend time together, share our lives and stories together, read the Bible together, pray together, encourage one another. You care and are cared for, you serve and are served, you love and are loved. And you are growing in Christ together. That’s why we do these things.
I believe UALC has a witness to offer in Columbus at this moment in history. I don’t think it was an accident that God started a church about 1956 and gave it a spirit and gave it a leading and has continued to nurture it all these years through all the places and all the journey that it has come. We have a witness to offer in Columbus at this moment in history - and even in our wider audiences too. People are joining us online from all over the place, and we’re hosting a national conference of one of our network denominations next week. What God is doing here is different from what’s normal, and different even from how other churches understand their calling. And the path lately in our world has not been easy. If I’m being honest. I’m tired. And I’m tired of it. I think we’re probably all a little wounded from all of it. And there’s a part of me that has asked the question, “Is it time for the church to rest? To retreat a little. To catch our breath and recover. To just take a break.” Here’s the thing I think about that. I think we need healing for our wounds, no doubt, but I don’t think we need to shrink back and lick our wounds. We need the Lord. We need his presence. We need one another. Frankly, we need more of all of that more than ever. So friends, I would encourage you and admonish you, don’t shrink back from each other, don’t shrink back from your commitment to God, to prayer, to church. Take this season to lean into your relationship with God, into worship, into the practice of community. I’ve been running to the Lord in my own morning prayer more earnestly than ever because I need it. The Lord is my strength when nothing else is. I’ve found that I am more thirsty to be a part of worship together, probably more than I ever have been, and it’s been a gift to be a part of that. Because I’m up front a lot, sometimes it’s a little harder for me to hear. I do a lot of talking. But I got to visit a chapel service on a college visit recently, and just getting to worship together and getting to hear God’s word is such a life-giving gift. Water for my thirsty soul. I think this season is actually a critical season, not to shrink back, but to step out in faith. And to experience the growth in faith and in community together that comes from shared adventure, and shared risk, and shared work. The kind of thing binds us together and binds us together with the Lord. Let me remind you and update you and encourage you and challenge you with the ways that we are moving forward in faith from here. In my report to you half a year ago, I said we would align our biggest resources as a congregation to pursue the vision God has given us. To be a “see how they love one another Oasis of God’s Kingdom here in Columbus.” The first and biggest resource we have among us is “us.” It’s our hearts. Our time. Our prayers. Our relationships. It’s the way we worship God, follow Jesus, keep in step with the spirit, and love one another. And I covet your prayers for our church. And I invite you to you trust and follow Jesus. And I invite your commitment to our rhythms of life together in worship, small group, growth, giving, and outreach. These lives that we live together are the life of God’s Oasis here in Northwest Columbus.
Second, I shared with you back in April that I was going to lead a project to realign our staff resources to our vision. And our team is all up in the thick of this. •
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We have identified principles of staff organization that serve our vision. For just one example, we know that we are one church. If we won’t be divided by lines of cultural division, then we won’t be divided by the Scioto River either. But we do know that we each mostly worship and build relationships at one of our campuses, and love thrives in relational proximity to one another. So we’ve begun to align the teams at our campuses to help people connect with one another and get mobilized and connected in ways that work at that campus. We’ve been able to get started a little faster at Lytham Road than Mill Run, but this will be important for all of us. And I think we’ve learned from the successes and challenges of the past so that we can avoid some of the pitfalls and risks we’ve seen before. I’ve also shared with you that we are hiring an Executive Director to help our staff work together with greater alignment and clarity. And I’ve heard back from some of you that this makes a lot of sense to you too. And, for those of you with longer memories, it turns out this was actually part of the plan almost 10 years ago before we entered into a season of unforeseen transitions. But I’m encouraged to know that God’s leading on this has been steady. Now we’re ready to follow. o To help me with this search, I’ve gathered a variety of groups in our congregation to pray together and learn from as much wisdom as possible.
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This is a list of some of the people who have contributed in various ways. Different members of this group, in different ways, helped network for candidates, gave feedback on the shape of the role, helped design the search process, contributed experience to the evaluation criteria and process, and will participate in interviews. And this doesn’t mention a number of people that I’ve talked to individually. We are blessed with so much wisdom and good leadership in our congregation. We received many applications for this position. I did initial conversations with a number of exciting candidates, and we narrowed the group to a smaller group of finalists. Interviews with our finalists are set to begin imminently, and I’m really encouraged by the quality of applicants we are considering. God is providing for us, and I’m excited about what this means for our church.
I’d also like to share with you some good news about some new partners who have joined our staff team. We don’t have time for a lot of detail today, but allow me to share these four people with you:
Melissa Davis is joining our staff in children’s ministry, beginning October 11. Melissa will serve our whole church but with relational proximity to children and families at Lytham Road. (We’re still looking for a half-time person to focus on Mill Run. If that’s you or if you know someone, we’d love to hear from you.)
Ashley Fruhling will be joining our staff as our worship leader at Mill Run, beginning in mid-October. Ashley is relocating from Atlanta to join our church.
Tammy Shuster has been on our staff already in the capacity of Small Groups director, specifically for our Lytham Road Campus. Tammy has gone full-time now as the Connections Director at Lytham Road, serving alongside Pastor Joe and helping people get connected in our church community. (And we are also searching for a counterpart for this role at Mill Run. If that’s you, or if you know someone, we want to hear from you.)
Nichole Bellair is serving in a special events coordinator role.
I’m grateful to God for providing each of these key leaders and partners in the ministry of the Gospel.
I’d also like to say thank you to some of our staff who are coming to the end of their season of ministry on staff at our church. I have been immensely blessed by Brodie Taphorn, Katie Borden, Jessica Efird, and Peggy Bronson. Lawrence Nunamaker is retiring (again), but he and his team have a good plan for seeing all our facilities projects through. Andrea Taphorn will also be joining her husband Brodie in San Diego, but she is with us through December 15. And Mary Ann Smith is also retiring from her role as special events coordinator. Please join me in saying “Thank you.” And a broader and many thanks to all of you and especially to our staff team who have been navigating this difficult season of change with confidence, and peace, and perseverance. This is what I told our church council last month about where we are right now: It feels a little like Thanksgiving dinner 90 minutes before you eat. Pots are bubbling everywhere. There’s flour on floor and ingredients open on every counter. But you can smell the meal coming, and we are confident that it’s all going to come together beautifully. And since last month when I shared that image, we’ve actually put a couple more dishes out at the table, so there’s reason to be confirmed in our confidence about this. So thank you for your partnership in this ministry, thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for this effort, and for our new teammates, and for the teammates we have yet to identify. Third, and much more briefly for now, our next big resource are these large buildings and properties that God has given us to steward and mobilize. Most of us haven’t been in them as much in the last 18 months as we were before, and that has been hard. And yet, let me re-assure you, I do not believe there is a future for us where we are not gathering together in physical community together. And our physical campuses can serve our vision better than they do now. I shared with you in our last meeting that our church council created a committee to begin exploring options for translating our spiritual vision into physical resources. And that work has begun. And really, it’s two committees, with one focused especially on prayer, so far praying almost entirely for the spiritual health and unity of the church. This is going to be a long process involving everyone in our church. I hope you’ll participate when the time comes. For right now, I’ll simply share these same Oasis priorities: • • •
The Oasis is God’s. So, we’ll want to strengthen the way our buildings serve as sacred spaces, to point us to Christ and life in His Spirit. We are an Oasis community. So, we’ll want to strengthen the ways that our buildings build community among us. An Oasis not a fortress. So, we are looking especially at our building exteriors and campuses, and we’ll want to position our buildings and grounds to invite and engage our neighborhoods.
For now, I’d ask you simply to pray for God’s house. That means the buildings at one level, and also that means the church family, which is a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Pray for God’s house, and for God’s leading, and for God’s provision. We will get to engage robustly with this process in the coming months. And I think I’ve mentioned some successes at Lytham Road in this meeting. But Mill Run also has it sanctuary renovations almost finished. We’ve pursued the same values in that room. And we hope to be in there in the next month to six weeks. No official date, but we’re getting close. Stay tuned for updates.
Finally, Dave Bowersox is going to present to you our budget for the coming year. It’s our vision-oriented giving and spending plan for 2021-22. And together with our church council, we’ve agreed to present to you a budget that plans for growth this year. And this growth is connected to a few things: •
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At a very practical level: Wages are up; employment is up; the market is (mostly) up. And costs are up. Things are more expensive than they used to be. And for some of you, required minimum distributions are back. And we are planning to return to a fuller slate of ministry activities and building usage. There are lots of practical factors involved. But there’s also a real spiritual level to this. I don’t believe this is the time for us to pull back. I believe it’s time for us to step forward. I believe we have a critical witness to offer, and this is a critical time of ministry for all of us. And I want us to embrace it, lean into it, step out together. And frankly, some of you will see the increase and say “3%? That’s growth? That’s not even inflation. Let’s strike out further.” If that’s you, I’m with you. Let’s do it and let’s blow it out of the water. This fall, we’ll also give our attention in worship to financial discipleship and generosity more explicitly than we have in the last few years. I’m looking forward to sharing with you my own heart and view on this and to share some teaching with you. And I believe that those seasons and focuses are holy moments. Real opportunities to grow closer to God for all of us.
Here’s the last thing I want to say. This is God’s church. It’s not my church. It’s not ultimately your church, except in the sense that God has made all of us truly part of it, and that is important. But this is God’s church. On the one hand, this calls for faithfulness and courageous stewardship of the vision and responsibilities God has entrusted to us. But even more, this truth gives us confidence. God will build his church. God will water his Oasis. He will quench the thirsts in our souls and in our world. We will do our best and try to honor God. And we will bear fruit and we will also get it wrong. We will strike out in faith, and sometimes we will strike out. But God will build his church. And nobody, but nobody, will stop him. All glory to God. Amen.