A Thought to Share...

As many of you know, I have been reading through our General Conference devotional, 50 Days of Prayer. Each day a new author has been chosen to share with its readers. Today's devotional, titled The Call, really spoke to me about perspective.

The author, Bishop Larry Goodpastor, speaks to us about our tolerance for the status quo and while at times that can be good, but at others, when the status quo is not good enough, it can be devastating. Here is what he wrote:


Read MARK 1:14-20

Now is the time!” (Mark 1:15, ceb). With those words, Jesus initiates his mission and calls all to respond with a life-changing perspective and a life-engaging involvement in that mission. “Now is the time!” The in-breaking reign of God invites us to leave behind everything that ties us to the status quo and to move boldly into God’s missional future.

“Now is the time!” With those words, we gather today in Tampa to begin General Conference. “Now is the time!” Will we hear the call of Jesus to catch a glimpse of and join what God is already up to in the world, or will we refuse to hear and be content with the status quo?

On this day, we too have come to the edge of a body of water and to the edge of our future. From that first call issued along the waters of the Sea of Galilee to the renewed call by the waters of Tampa Bay, we are invited to turn our attention and energy toward the vision of a transformed world. When God’s reign of love, mercy, and grace arrives, everything about our life, our world, and our church must be reconfigured because at that point our business cannot go on as usual.

The Greeks distinguished time with two words: chronos, which is time that can be measured and controlled; and kairos, which is time that is filled with possibility and signifies more about quality than quantity. Will General Conference 2012 be a kairos moment, and will the “now-is-the-time” call become an invitation to move faithfully into God’s future with hope? Or will we find ourselves locked into the chronos of agenda and deadlines?

Meditate on “time”: this time, our time, the next ten days of time; in silence, listen for the call of Jesus and respond to this kairos moment.

—Larry Goodpaster

General Conference begins today. Please be in prayer that the church's status quo, where it is unacceptable, be changed so the glory of God may shine in its place.

Have a great week!