Let Me Be Frank… (future)

It was her family’s church, but she had no idea what to expect. They had started attending after she had left home. But now she was back – a single mother with a baby on the way. Word had got around that she was no longer married. The marriage was something she had wanted to salvage, but he was fine with moving on. So, there she was, a woman with a past waiting for the gossip and the whispers that were surely on their way. It must have been hard to walk through those doors…

What do people expect when they walk through the doors at Central?  What do they expect to see when they hop on our social media pages?  Love, mercy, grace, and purpose all come to mind and I would be willing to bet that there are many in our congregation ready and willing to offer a hand, a bit of encouragement and a social distance hug.

We have an awesome opportunity in this current landscape to find new and innovative ways to reach our Central fam!  Bible studies will be starting soon, we have the huge “We Love Portales” event at Rotary Park tomorrow and we have four baskets set out on our stage for four awesome moms.

Baby showers are awesome and fun (especially when there’s cake), but how in the world do you pull that off in the middle of all this?  Virtually, of course!  The plan is to have a few hosts for the event, ask our congregation to bring stuff to fill the baskets and then tune in via Zoom to congratulate the mommas and welcome the babies (two have already arrived) into this world.  If you’d like to contribute to the baskets you have one more week left before we give them away. 

Why do we do stuff like this?  Isn’t it difficult to plan and undertake events when it can’t be business as usual.  The answer is “yes” but it doesn’t mean it can’t be done.  As we look at encounters with Jesus in our current sermon series I am amazed at the way Jesus works IN us so He can work THROUGH us!  And He wants to CONTINUE to work through us no matter the circumstances.  Because we never really know how much of an impact we are going to make.  I’d like for you to know the rest of the story…

Instead of gossip, the single mother found hope. A group of ladies at the church threw a baby shower for her. They may not have known much about this woman at all, but that didn’t matter. What she needed was love and grace. And they gave her that and then some. I don’t think she can remember a single gift from that day, but she still recalls that experience as a pivotal part of her life even though it happened twenty-four years ago. You know the woman. She’s my wife. And you know the church too. It’s Central Christian.

We are Central… and we’re in this together!

SOLI DEO GLORIA
F