On May 25th, we had waffles and worship in Rothwell Hall. Importantly, I planted the seed for a conversation we’ll have over the rest of the year. I know there were sound and live stream issues, but the most essential point was this - when we think about our mission statement, “with” might just be the most important word. We are called to “love the city WITH the heart of Christ.” Emphasizing ‘with’ reminds us about the true nature of the heart of Christ. God came not to preach at, give to, or lord over lowly subjects. Instead, Jesus is Emm-anu-el, which literally translates to WITH-us-God. Jesus called us friends and made clear that his ultimate goal is for us all to be one.
There are models for doing church that emphasize all kinds of things - some prioritize a highly produced worship experience; some prioritize education and teaching through worship and study groups; some think the most important metric is dollars in the offering plate or buildings constructed or donations passed onward. None of these are inherently right or wrong - but each entails a different set of choices around budgets, focus, staff, and more. I believe the key priority for loving with the heart of Christ is to walk with, serve with, grow with, and partner with our community.
Three key pillars of a “with” focused approach will be learning to treat the people, the neighborhood, and the building as gifts to be embraced and celebrated rather than challenges to be overcome or artifacts to be preserved.
People like Flo Medlin have offered the gift of a love that seeks to make room for all. People like Anthony Salvato have reminded us that there are so many gifts we will miss out on if we don’t bother to take the time to know all the people of our community.
The neighborhood has shaped a great deal of what we’ve done over the years - this is the birthplace of Some Other Place, the Rainbow Room, and Sleep in Heavenly Peace; Kairos kitchen was started to offer hospitality and food to our neighbors; we’ve welcomed downtown businesses and parades and offered lunch programs in partnership with the AGO that take advantage of our location. These and many other programs and ministries reflect the nature of our location.
And our building has been home to countless lives changed, programs developed, and events hosted. We are often the first sign of hope people see when entering downtown and the building holds enormous potential to house and give birth to even more impactful work in our community. The good futures team has been working in the background over the last year to develop strategies that will put our building and grounds to greater use.
To build on a solid foundation for the future, I believe we must embrace all the people who walk through our doors, the changing nature of downtown Beaumont, and all 70,000+ sq ft of indoor space (plus more outside!) - and embrace them as gifts with which God has blessed us and through which we can more fully love this city with the heart of Christ!
I’ll seek opportunities throughout 2025 to keep the conversation going with the intent of gaining feedback, comments, and concerns so that toward the end of the year we’ll have the opportunity to commit to a shared set of priorities and convictions. In short, loving the city WITH the heart of Christ entails celebrating the fact that the people are a gift, the neighborhood is a gift, and the building is a gift. I look forward to all that we will accomplish as we build a solid foundation together!