Relevance

Cindee, my wonderful wife, and I recently joined a casual choir at Elam United Methodist Church.  We have received the words for our first several songs that we will sing, one per month, to a professionally recorded music track.

We had a guest at our house recently who started looking through the three ring notebook that had these words.  She began to read the words out load.  She didn't recognize the songs but did say with delight and amazement "Wow!  These words are so relevant to life!  They really touch me where I am these days!"

What made this statement all the more powerful was her earlier conversation with us of a new activity that her church was doing that she didn't understand and seemed to have no place in her life.

Once again, as they so often do, my Dad's words came back to me:

“We need to set our sights high, 

but all of our labor will be in vain unless 

we begin each new effort on our knees before God’s altar.

A worshiping community -

A community in which the sacramental life is central, 

is the strong and powerful one. 

The Lord Jesus Christ must be at the center of the lives of the laborers 

if this church is to make the transition, grow, 

and meet the real and essential 

needs of the people coming into this community.”

Relevance in the life of a church is defined in large part as meeting the real and essential needs of the people in its community.

I am thankful for a Church such as Elam that is doing so with such joy...