What If You’ve Never Been There?
Volume 2, No. 5
My dear Illinois COG church family & our friends,
We’ve all heard the sage statement: “You can’t take people where you haven’t been yourself.”
I disagree.
Afterall, how did the first fellow get there?
There hasn’t always been a YouTube video to show you how to do something or Google Maps to give you directions. For most of human history if you wanted to do something or go somewhere you just started out—with or without a guide.
So to answer the question: Can you take someone to a place you’ve never been before?
Why sure…if you’re willing to begin the journey yourself.
Virtually every Sunday Sonja and I are in one of our amazing churches in Illinois. We haven’t found one yet that has arrived. We haven’t been to one church where the pastor assured me he had everything under control and had all the answers.
But without fail every church we go to and every pastoral team we meet is on a journey. And that’s what matters.
Remember Jesus’ last words to the church? He simply said, “Go…and I will be with you.” And that’s enough.
All any of us know for sure is what has happened (history). None of us know for sure what tomorrow holds or exactly where we’re heading.
So…
Don’t be intimidated by your lack of knowledge and experience. Jesus is with us and He knows where we’re going and how to get there. Therefore, we can always be assured that the best is yet to come.
The important thing to keep in mind is our ultimate destination. This world is not our home, we are headed to a far better place and the goal is to take as many with us as possible. That’s the mission, the focus, the purpose for what we do.
Stay focused on that ILCOG…we’ll figure out the rest one step at a time.
As always, Sonja and I send our love and gratitude to all the faithful and dedicated ministers and members of ILCOG. You are amazing! Let’s keep Running2Win for the Gospel’s sake! It’s going to be a great journey together.
With warmest regards,
David L. Kemp
Photo by Dimitar Donovski on Unsplash
