According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it.  Each builder must choose with care how to build on it.  For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid, that foundation is Jesus Christ. 

–  St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 3:10-11

Beloved of God,

When you’re framing up a house, before you lift a stick of lumber you check the foundation to make certain its walls are plumb, level and square.  If the foundation is out of PLUMB it means the walls are leaning, and the weight of the force pressing down could cause them to collapse.  If the foundation is not LEVEL neither will the floors be, and everything that’s added on top will contribute to the home’s instability.  If the foundation is out of SQUARE then everything on top of it will be out of square; and problems originating with the foundation will be translated through the entire structure to the roof.  In other words, if a home’s foundation isn’t plumb, level, and square, everything built on it will be put at risk, everything built on it will be in danger of failing.

Back in the day when I was framing houses in Minnesota, our crew once arrived at the job site to discover that the foundation, instead of measuring up square as it should, measured like a parallelogram!  There was nothing we could do to build that house from that foundation and have it end up square.  The only option was starting over from the ground up.  So our foreman called the cement contractor, and, after a few choice words were exchanged, the cement contractor sent a backhoe to pull the walls down and pull the footings up and start the building process all over again.

The testimony of the New Testament is that there is only one solid foundation on which the mission of the church can be built.  In the words of the Samuel Stone’s great hymn text: “The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord.”

Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock…and everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  –  Jesus, Matthew 7: 24, 26

In some ways, our annual meeting each year is an opportunity to evaluate whether the structure we’ve been building upon befits the church’s one foundation.  I came away from this year’s annual meeting convinced that we are not only on the right track—we are poised to engage our collective calling with creativity and renewed energy!  As we continue to emerge from the pandemic, I am excited to see how the energy and experience of our new council can help us recalibrate our mission moving forward.  There is much to look forward to in 2023!

Jesus was a craftsman who worked with wood and stone.  He knew how to put a building up right.  He transferred those skills into his work with people.  Jesus doesn’t expect us to build upon his foundation with skills we alone can muster.  Instead, he invites us to become apprenticed to him and sends us the Holy Spirit, so we can learn all we need to know to build a home—a community, a mission, a way of life—that will endure.

When the life we share is founded on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ instead of the shifting sands of the priorities and practices the world offers, our lives remain secure no matter what circumstances we face.  The house that faith builds is a fit habitation and a firm launching platform for our mission.

With you on the Way,

Pastor Erik