Only God Alone Can See
“The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed ...”
I just came from the South Central Jurisdiction Conference after listening to a stirring episcopal (bishop) address by Bishop Fierro Cynthia Harvey of the Texas Conference based in Houston. Bishop Harvey used this text and reminded us that by our baptism we are all seed-planters for God’s intended kingdom and that we rarely get to see the tree that grows into full maturity with all the different birds that flock to rest there. She was talking about the Church now and the Church we need to be in the decades that are coming. The Church for people who are looking for unconditional acceptance and love, regardless of their background, their ethnicity, their handicapping condition, their socio-economic level, the people they love, their knowledge of the Bible, or what they believe or don’t believe. They are looking for a place of true grace where they can find community and connection with a people of grace.
For the next three weeks, I will be preaching on our Vision Statement, “Connecting God and Grace to Self and Community: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.” As the description says, we have come a long way from the horse and buggy days of 1847 when FUMC Plano was founded in a cabin a half mile up E. Spring Creek Parkway. However, the mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world has remained the same. Those first Methodists in 1847 could not have dreamed of the ways in which FUMC Plano has come to live into that vision at 3160 E. Spring Creek Parkway. Similarly, we cannot imagine how future United Methodists will carry on that same mission 147 years from now in 2171. But as Bishop Harvey reminded us, the seed-planting starts now. See you Sunday!
Connecting God and Grace to Self and Community,
