Pastoral transitions are funny things. They’re inevitable—no pastor serves a congregation forever—and yet they nearly always catch most people off-guard—including the pastor! 

At churches like Joy we put a lot of effort every Lent and especially Holy Week pretending we don’t know where this story is headed. But we do: spring has sprung, just as surely Jesus has sprung from the grave—even if it feels like just a few days too early to celebrate! 

So, try something new this Lent, if you feel so led. But what would you put down or set aside—even temporarily—in order to pick up something else? What can you hand off to God, so that you can be blessed by something new?

Know that you are loved, regardless of your capacity for self-improvement. Know that your entire being, no matter your physical, mental or spiritual shape, is created in the image of God.

But what is the source of our hope? It’s easy to get mixed up about that whenever we do church together, and it’s far too easy to think that the source of our hope is in our numbers. Or the attractiveness of our ministry. Or the beauty of our worship space. These are all good things, but they are not the source and ground of our hope. As one classic hymn of the church puts it, our “hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

If you’ve been around me at all recently, you know how excited I am to work with our incoming music director, or as I’ve been referring to the position “lead musician for organ, piano and choirs.”

We often marvel at how much gets dumped on certain people all at once and at how well they handle it. Faith helps, yes. Courage in the face of adversity, sure. But never underestimate the power of a listening ear. It might be you doing the listening—or it might be you who needs it, without realizing it, until you’re right in the middle of it.

We’re trying some new things around here. Well known in the community for our family art nights, we had our first paint party for adults and are planning another soon. We’re soon going to have our first pool party in a very long time, and probably our first for all ages.

I want to encourage us to find joy in who we actually are and who we’re becoming. There’s nothing wrong with celebrating past glories, but that can obscure who God means for us to be now and in the future.