Address

Did you watch the webcast last night? This will be the first of many questions Community of Christ members and friends will be asking each other today.

On Sunday evening, April 10, 2011, President Stephen Veazey addressed the church with an important message entitled “The Mission Matters Most!” This important sermon seeks to spell out the mission of the church in a fresh and compelling way. If you missed this pivotal event, the video footage of his remarks will soon be posted to the church’s website. At the time of this writing it is not yet available although already you can read his comments by clicking here. The message matters a great deal.

After reflecting on Jesus’ announcement of his own mission as recorded in Luke 4:18-19, President Veazey announced five mission initiatives for Community of Christ. They are as follows.

• Invite People to Christ; Christ’s mission of evangelism
• Abolish Poverty, End Suffering; Christ’s mission of compassion
• Pursue Peace on Earth; Christ’s mission of justice and peacemaking
• Develop Disciples to Serve; equip individuals for Christ’s mission
• Experience Congregations in Mission; equip congregations for Christ’s mission

In this sermon, President Veazey, or “Steve” as many of us know him, points out that if we are Christ followers, His mission is our mission. He has sought to express in a fresh and compelling way what that mission is. It is very timely.

Much could and will be said about these five initiatives. We will be talking about them for years to come. For this morning, perhaps it is enough to read his remarks and begin to think about how we respond, both as individuals and as a church. It is a conversation all of need to be part of.

So let me ask you, did you watch the webcast last night? What did you think? Did any of the initiatives speak to you? Did all of them? Have you begun to think about how you might respond? What about your congregation; how will that community be different as a result of this? What will your community do together?

We will be talking about these and other questions for a long time, so lets start the conversation now. Will you click on the comments button and share your initial thoughts?

Posted by Carman