8 Thanksgivings at the completion of 8 years at Trinity
1. Encounter People: I am so thankful that you expect to encounter God in Spirit and in sacrament. Your praise isn't perfunctory, and your reception of the sacraments are not ritual. You live to meet the living God. I love the recovery community who, week after week, sits next to you. They bring hungry and thirsty hearts, and they don't meet religious people who basically "have it all together." They sit next to other desperate people who need to encounter God. This brings a liveliness to our liturgy. There meets a God who moves heaven and earth to be with His people, and a people who long to be with their God. Oh blessed communion, fellowship Divine! Thank you!
2. Bible People: You have a solid and orthodox commitment to the Bible enshrined in your constitution, and matched by your practice in your commitment to Biblical preaching and Bible study. Your deeds adorn your creeds. You are not content with a little humor or a little inspiration or a sweet story. You want the Word. This makes me so thankful.
3. Evangelical People: You are increasingly people of the evangel-the Gospel. You know that the Gospel is for those people out there, but it is just as much for us people in here. You know that the Christian life isn't grace at the beginning and works forever after. It is ALL grace! And you are growing in it.
4. Catholic People: καθολικός means "according to the whole." James Joyce says the definition of catholic is "Here comes everybody." I am thankful that this sounds like Trinity. Such a variety of demographics and heritage of denominations. You could have a Methodist caucus, and an Anglican caucus, and a Church of Christ or Church of God caucus, a Roman Catholic caucus, a classic Pentecostal caucus, a formerly agnostic, or JW, or Mormon caucus, or even a Lutheran caucus. I'm thankful you don't break it down like that, because God doesn't. There is room for us to disagree (sometimes strongly) on various matters, because we so profoundly agree on the essentials. We have Concordia (common heartbeat with God) in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The faith of the church of every age and in every place is our faith. That faith "once delivered to the saints" (Jude 3) is enough for you. Novelty is unneeded here. That makes me thankful!
5. San Pedro (South Bay) People: I am thankful that we look more like San Pedro with every new member that joins us. If every tribe and people group is represented at coming feast, then Los Angeles (population) could be the best representation of heaven that exists on earth (without the infrastructure, potholes, tears, etc). And we are looking more like our city. This make me thankful!
6. Liberal People: You are flexible and generous where the Scriptures allow or even encourage it. In eight years I can not recall hearing the seven last words of the church (except for the occasional joke) "We have always done it that way." Is something we are doing standing in the way of people coming to know the grace of God in Jesus Christ? You are also liberal in the way God is abundantly liberal-in giving! You respond to the Lord in normal weekly ways, but also special ways. When a need is presented, I have come to expect generosity from you. You have trained me to expect this. Thank you!
7. Conservative People: There are things worth preserving. I've already mentioned Biblical fidelity and apostolic doctrine. You don't vote on matters God has already voted on. But also in regards to financial and campus stewardship, you are conservative. You have been good managers of the resources God has entrusted to you. This has put us in a solid place to invest in people, mission, and the future. We are not anxious about debt because we don't have any. I'm thankful for this.
8. Real People: A reason given for not going to church is because it is full of hypocrites. I'm thankful that the service begins with God's proper name: Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit. This reminds us that we gather (and live for that matter), not as unclaimed, unloved, nameless ones, but as chosen, beloved children who have had the Name above all names given to us. This allows us to confess honestly and openly. I want to tell people who think we are hypocrites, "Come join us! Nearly the first thing we do is confess to being massive screw ups who deserve punishment. That's not hypocritical-it's real!" I love that you are real people. Only people who don't need to justify their goodness, their value, their behavior can be real. Your realness reveals that you have been justified by the grace of God as a gift through His Son's gift of righteousness, received by faith. What can we say but, "Thank You!"
Trinity, I hope that on this pastor appreciation month you will know that your pastor appreciates and gives thanks for you. God is doing a marvelous job forming you!
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