Senior Adult Retreat 2023

In our last Coordinating Council meeting, I shared this blurb from Eugene Peterson’s A Long Obedience in the Same Direction (quoting William Faulkner): “Life is not about making monuments, but about making footprints. A monument only says, ‘At least I got this far’ while a footprint says, ‘This is where I was when I moved again.’”

Raise your hand if you have been part of a church visioning process! I see the eyes rolling now, and I have some bad news for you. Gone are the days of completing one such visioning process and living into your new congregational dream for ten or twenty years. The current rate of change in church life calls for more frequent and habitual review. The good news is, as your church pauses more often for evaluation, there is less life you have to assess. It is easier to lean a church closet if you do it a few times a year rather than leaving it for a decade! (I see you, VBS planning teams!)

The process of routine evaluation lends itself to a healthy culture that says, “This is where we were when we moved again.” At CBFGA it is time, yet again, for such a review.

Back in April, our Coordinating Council retreated together in North Georgia. We spent a few days reflecting on areas of growth for our organization, which to be completely candid, are plenty! As we discussed what we value and the needs we see for our Georgia churches, three common themes rose to the surface:

• Continuing to connect churches with each other for retreats and resources
• Supporting congregations in seasons of transition
• Encouraging a culture of vocational calling through testimony, scholarship, and financial aid

The energy and depth of conviction bubbling around these topics was clear. Though we do not have catchy titles just yet, these three areas will become what Jody called “tent poles” for our organization’s future. Such identity markers are sometimes referred to as organizational pillars; however, the language of tent poles seems much more appropriate.

Unlike pillars, tent poles can be packed up and moved as we make footprints in our organizational life, footprints that say, “This is where we were when we moved again!”

Please join me in praying for our CBFGA staff and Coordinating Council as we further invest in these three areas of need among our Georgia congregations.