One More River to Cross...
When I was growing up and the family went on vacation it always seemed that I was asking "How much further is it?". And the answer was always "Just a little further." The lesson being that a goal is always a little further away or harder to achieve than you think it would or should be. This was brought to mind today as I listened to Rev. Carol give us the news that due to changes in the real estate market that the amount of the loan we need to finish our new home for MCCGSL is more than the current appraised value of the property and that as a result it was uncertain when we would be able to move in. One more challenge on a journey that has already seen us as a church give until it seems that we can give no more. But more is needed. Can we as a church rise to this challenge?
At this point I'm going to digress just a bit - I'm going to use as an example the selection process that the military uses to pick who gets into the training courses to join the elite units - Special Forces, Delta, Seals, etc. The common factor is that they work the the prospective trainees for for days on limited food and little or no sleep. Then when they think that have reached their limits physically and mentally present them one more seemingly insurmountable challenge. Perhaps to individually march another 20, 30 or more miles or as a team move a heavy and awkward object some distance with only their own physical ability and what they can scrounge to work with. The ones who pass and go on are those that rise to the challenge, who don't know the meaning of the word quit. The relavance here is that the same attitude is needed in our situation - if we fail at raising that last bit of money/collateral it becomes uncertain when or if we will ever get to move into our new facility. We have been presented that last (I hope) challenge - are we up to it?
There was a time in our church history when we had so little in the line of resources that the bills for utilities and the like would be tacked up on the front door to be adopted and paid by members of the congregation. Somehow they made it through those times. Speaking for myself only, as Rev. Carol outlined the problem my thoughts were not about if I would rise to this challenge but rather how I would do it. As I have written previously I'm already delaying my retirement in order to contribute from my transition fund to help pay for our new home. And then it came to me, I own free and clear a small tract of land in the Ozarks where I go to camp and chill out when life gets to be more than I can handle. Since collateral is needed to secure the additional loan amount I'm going to put the deed to what has been my refuge over the years up to help secure the loan.
I'll be interested to see who else rises to the challenge - but given the history of our church I know that I am not and will not be alone.
At this point I'm going to digress just a bit - I'm going to use as an example the selection process that the military uses to pick who gets into the training courses to join the elite units - Special Forces, Delta, Seals, etc. The common factor is that they work the the prospective trainees for for days on limited food and little or no sleep. Then when they think that have reached their limits physically and mentally present them one more seemingly insurmountable challenge. Perhaps to individually march another 20, 30 or more miles or as a team move a heavy and awkward object some distance with only their own physical ability and what they can scrounge to work with. The ones who pass and go on are those that rise to the challenge, who don't know the meaning of the word quit. The relavance here is that the same attitude is needed in our situation - if we fail at raising that last bit of money/collateral it becomes uncertain when or if we will ever get to move into our new facility. We have been presented that last (I hope) challenge - are we up to it?
There was a time in our church history when we had so little in the line of resources that the bills for utilities and the like would be tacked up on the front door to be adopted and paid by members of the congregation. Somehow they made it through those times. Speaking for myself only, as Rev. Carol outlined the problem my thoughts were not about if I would rise to this challenge but rather how I would do it. As I have written previously I'm already delaying my retirement in order to contribute from my transition fund to help pay for our new home. And then it came to me, I own free and clear a small tract of land in the Ozarks where I go to camp and chill out when life gets to be more than I can handle. Since collateral is needed to secure the additional loan amount I'm going to put the deed to what has been my refuge over the years up to help secure the loan.
I'll be interested to see who else rises to the challenge - but given the history of our church I know that I am not and will not be alone.