What happened to fall? Did I sleep through it? I went to bed in the late summer, I woke up and it was winter already. I couldn’t believe my ears this morning as I listened to the weatherman say, “The roads are warm enough, I don’t believe there will be much of a threat with this wintery mix.” It’s late October in Oklahoma. I can’t believe it is November already. Of course, I’m more than ready for 2020 to be over! We have much to be thankful for given the year we’ve been through. The LORD has been gracious to us. Other than the first week back in March, we’ve had a morning service. We’ve been online through YouTube since that first Sunday. We returned in May for in person and have continued with the live stream. Early in the summer, we returned to Sunday School. Things are different yet we continue to meet for worship and Bible study. Financially, God has been gracious and you have been faithful! We continue to follow our protocols, use masks and practice distancing and have had a couple of funerals and a wedding. All things considered, we’ve been blessed.
Where do we go from here? What does our church look like post virus? Some things have changed and are here to stay. We will continue online. Some classes have changed in that some are not meeting and others have combined. We’ve been flexible and have adjusted as needed. Now it is time to consider next steps. For that purpose, I have formed a study team to look at our structure and consider what things will look like moving forward. I’m asking you to pray for this group of men as we work through these important matters. I’ve asked Wayne Hatcher, Jim Narrin, Keith Cannon, Ron Lundin and Devin Wilkins to work with me on putting together a plan. Pray for us as we seek to restructure and refocus our energies. We are not looking for wholesale change but rather, “How can we most effectively encourage, edify and building up the body of Christ?” How do we use Sunday morning Bible study, Sunday evenings and Wednesday night to equip our folks for living out their faith? This will not be a quick process. We are looking at possible structural changes in the spring of 2021 and possibly some changes in classes offered in the fall of 2021.
It is also time for us to begin work on our budget for 2021. Pray for our finance committee as that process begins in the next couple of weeks.
One last thing, don’t forget the time change this coming weekend! We “fall back” on Saturday night. November 1 is the return to standard time, so set those clocks back one hour when you go to bed. You get an extra hour of sleep!
I look forward to seeing you Sunday.
Rod