Dear Mom,
My partner and love of my life, (your daughter-in-law) Jan, often asks probing questions, and there's one in particular she asked me that I'll never forget: It was years ago, but I remember we were sitting in the living room of our house on Summit Street… and I think she may have been pregnant. Anyhow… she asked me, ''What is your favorite feeling?'' Instantly, my brain clicked through a dozen possibilities. Feelings are extremely important to me, so I had a tough time choosing just one. For the life of me, I don’t remember what I said to her that day. I’m sure it was profound… but the memory of her question remains with me to this day. As I ponder what might be my answer to that question today, Mom, I think my favorite feeling is the feeling of ''accomplishment.''
Is anything more satisfying than crossing off that last to-do on your list? Not to me. Whether it's finishing a sermon or writing the last paragraph of an article or facilitating a much-needed reconciliation, the feeling of accomplishment is probably my favorite. And I can think of no clearer embodiment of accomplishment than the Lord Jesus.
I’m thinking about the words He prayed only hours from the cross: ''I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do'' (John 17:4). Did you catch that? ''Having accomplished.'' After three-and-a-half years of ministry, Jesus knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane and basically said, ''It's a wrap.'' He hadn't done everything everyone expected Him to do, but He had done everything the Father sent Him to do . . . and in the final analysis, that's what mattered.
Then came those six agonizing hours on the cross. Even there, He kept His eye on the goal. Just before He died, He pulled against the nails and cried out, ''It is finished!'' (John 19:30). There it is again: accomplishment.
I’ve given this a lot of thought, Mom, as we have just gone through the Easter season. Imagine the feelings that washed over those disciples that first Easter. Jesus had risen from the grave, triumphantly! Oh, the satisfaction we all share from Jesus's accomplishment. He is risen!
Mom, in SO many ways in Conneaut, God's grace through Jesus has been the message of New Leaf for almost three years now! If you recall, LAST year our Leadership prayed that God would send 400 to New Leaf for Easter worship 2011… He blessed us with 399. The running joke was that, if we had known we were only ONE short, we would have run across the street to McDonalds to pull in one more! Since then, we New Leaf leadership have been fervently praying for 500 at our 2012 Easter weekend worship experiences. We were so THRILLED to see God move in a remarkable way this Easter weekend… we worshipped with a total of 588!!!!
From these worship experiences, 50 guests ‘signed in’ as first-timers! (by the way, on Palm Sunday we had 387 in attendance!) In fact, our average worship attendance for the first quarter is 332 each weekend!
And, Mom, think about this: Since our beginning in July 2009, we have baptized 33 children and 11 adults. 57 people have joined us by Confession of Faith and 21 people have joined by Transfer from other churches. That is 44 baptisms and 78 new members in less than three years! We are SO blessed at New Leaf!!
And just as we feel a sense of ‘accomplishment’ from these amazing things, there’s more! We ran a ‘test pilot’ for a new worship experience, Friday Night Live!, in December 2011 for 4 weeks. The first week started with an attendance of 24. By the 4th and final week of the pilot, we had 72 in attendance at worship. Thus, we decided to get our proverbial ‘ducks in a row’ and launch the new worship service on Easter weekend. We promoted it as an Easter and Holy Week worship experience. We had 51 in attendance and were blessed with the privilege of performing the baptism of an infant during the worship experience. We intend on having Holy Communion at every Friday Night Alive worship experience and have intentionally designed it as an ‘alternative’ style of worship.
Mom, there is SO MUCH MORE that I could share about what God is doing at New Leaf, but could not wait to share what God is doing through his faithful people in Conneaut! I want to encourage you… I know you have been struggling with your health lately, and I intend on coming home to visit you soon! (Now, that would be an accomplishment!)
Pray for us as we love God, love people, and make disciples! Your loyal son, who remains…
In His Service. Scott