Cranking the Jesus Factor! So Who Are The Ones Who Have Slipped Away From Life Here at FPC Merch?

             I speak of the people in our lives who have slipped away from the family of faith that is FPC Merch.  We can look back through recent history, the time between called pastors, the community numbing of the Covid pandemic, the many issues of life inside and outside the church that impact our faith journeys.  Those things that cause our journey to stall, to fizzle, to grow stale, there are many possibilities.  

            I speak of the people we care about in our lives, those folks in the circles of our families.  Yes, we have a 'general' rule to care for everyone.  Jesus said to love our neighbors as ourselves.  Yes, that’s everybody.  But a wise man once said, “You can’t have everything, you’ve got no place to put it.”  I am speaking of where we start to care.

            Who do we have in the circle of people who are family, by blood or by upbringing or by grace?   Maybe they used to be part of the wider church community, maybe you wish they were, maybe you wish the church had a way of welcoming them.

            November 16 is a Sunday that we have set aside as a “Big Day”, a moment in the life of the church to be an opportunity to reach out to the ones who have slipped away.  As we prepare, I ask three things.

            First, take a moment with the Lord to consider who would be those who have ‘slipped away’.  If you get stuck on what that means, ‘slipped away’, make the broadest connection that you can.  A person you know, the church that you have, and the potential for a new or a renewed connection between them. 

            Second, take another moment with the Lord to ask God’s discernment and intervention and the gift of ‘possibility’.  What would it look like if this person were at worship?  "The Roof Would Fall In" is NOT a valid reason or excuse not to connect.  In my experience, the people who are most vehement in making this proclamation are the people most in need of connection with our Lord Jesus (and they generally know it in their soul).

            Third, take yet a third moment with the Lord to pray about that day.  Not as a one off, but daily (or more!), repeatedly, joyfully.  The prayer is this: May our worship glorify the Lord, may it bring godliness and dignity, grace and wonder, forgiveness and celebration to our hearts.  Amen.  And yes, that is a good prayer for every Sunday, but there are moments when we wish to crank up the "Jesus factor". 

            So then, somebody is probably asking in this moment, “Hey pastor, what about the people who haven’t slipped away?  The people we haven’t even met yet?”  Please, prayerfully invite them too.

            Somebody else might be asking, “Hey pastor, what about me?  I am disconnected.”  Pastor.pete.13@gmail.com is my email, reach out if you wish to arrange a time to talk.  Or, if you know somebody who is active, who is present, blow their socks off and reach out to them.  “You know, pastor posts some interesting bits in his blog…”

            As we prepare, I invite you, I ask you, I personally request that you pray for where we are going as a church, especially how November 16, 2025 will mark a Big Day on that journey.

Peace,

pastor pete