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'Coon Hunting
and Long Range Planning
Last Tuesday night I
went on my first ever 'coon hunt. Sandra said it was bad enough that
I went, that I sure didn't need to tell anybody about it. She says I
am a certified Red Neck... If only my Volvo were 4-wheel drive!
Kidding aside, I learned a great deal about myself, the ministry,
and of course ';coon hunting itself.
Wayne Riley was kind
enough to invite me, and I was only too eager to accept. I finished
meetings with the S.P.R. and Long Range Planning committees
and changed into my old camo and rubber boots. I piled into the back
of Wayne's Toyota Tacoma and expressed my excitement about "raccoon
hunting." He had told me to leave the bow and arrows at home. He
taught me to leave off the "rac" and make it "coon" hunting. We
drove off into the wild black yonder of the nighttime Geneva County
woods. We got out and let out two hound dogs, Candy and Chance, and
they went to work. I was interested to learn that they use three
barks: one for the track, one for the trail, and one for the tree.
That was fun.
We waited and
listened to the dogs work. Then, Wayne said, "I think I know where
they are headed. let's drive over a little closer. There's no sense
in walking through all that mess when we can drive." We got our and
hightailed it to the tree that Candy and Chance had claimed, then
began shining our high powered spelunking lights into the trees just
looking for a a 'coon. We looked and looked some more, we looked up
so much my neck hurt.
That is what got me
to thinking about church. Just like 'coon hunting, we need to look
ahead and we need to look up. We need to have a good sense of
direction about where our ministry is taking us. Sometimes we feel
like we are in the dark and all we need to hear is God's voice to
find our way. If we just listen to the voices of the community and
church, we might have a good idea of where we are headed. Then, we
can make the trip easier without having to "go through all the
mess." That is what a "Purpose Driven Church" is doing, is it not?
We need to look ahead. We need to pay attention to the indicators of
our ministry. Where is it headed? What will it look like? Finally we
need to look up. We need to celebrate our successes. We need to give
God the glory and honor. We need to praise God in our worship for
the grace and calling that has brought us here.
Our long range
planning committee met just before my 'coon hunting adventure. Our
chairman, J.J. Hughes, asked us to look ahead. He asked us to
consider what our church will look like in three years, in five
years, and in ten years. Will you join us as we examine our future?
Come and share your vision with me. Where do you think we are going?
How can you help us go there?
Jesus said, "you
know the way to the place where I am going." (Jn 14:4) Are we going
with Him? Where are you looking?
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