Note: On July 7th, Rick will give his last message to Grace. On July 14th, the Great Transition of Leadership occurs. Please be on-hand, if you can.
On June 30, 2024, Rick Hale finished up his very last Membership Class 101 for the 141st time. Just at Grace, he’s given this teaching and appeal for decision to 4,045 people … not including those attending that night.
What does this mean for those of us who remain at Grace?
On the one hand, nothing. Rick Hale was a gargantuan figure in the short scope of things. Because of his leadership, thousands – including myself – have found that finding and fulfilling God’s purpose for your life is something that’s not hard, if you just give time and attention to it.
But on the other hand, everything. As Nathan Marsh comes to lead us as our Senior Pastor, Grace needs to be reminded and remind itself of our Core Values, our Strategy for Discipleship, and continued mission to help people find and fulfill God’s purpose for their lives. Now is not the time to rest on Rick’s laurels and watch Nathan race faster and harder – it’s time for us to refocus, and play close attention.
This is not the first time a church has faced leadership passages.
Toward the end of his letter to the Philippians, inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul reflected:
17 Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. 18 For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Philippians 3:17-21)
We must continue to ask ourselves: What is the logical conclusion of being a Citizen of Heaven? What restructured pattern of living should I maintain and give eager attention to? Rick was never satisfied with us simply “going to church” and neither will Nate. “Going to church” is a cultural phenomenon that Americans have been doing since our inception because, be we emigrant, immigrant, miscreant, or “saint,” this is what disciples do wherever they go (some voluntary, some by force): they gather – and if they’re smart – they rally behind Mission.
What Paul is encouraging is something he says in diverse ways in other places: that WE are meant to gather in order to pattern our lives differently. Romans 12:2 is an excellent example: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
He warned us about the enemies of this excellent spirit of New Citizenship: An appetite for worldly tastes and worldly ambition. We must take care not to be ensnared by the things that used to enslave us.
This is why we don’t mindlessly “go” to church; we “church” as we go together. “Churching” is our desire to walk with Christ, submerge ourselves in the catalytic solution of biblical fellowship (eg: learning to love each other, spurring one another on toward love and good deeds, praying in privately and corporately together, serving with and for each other, and all those reciprocal commands in the Bible), and silently letting the Holy Spirit changes us day by day, week by week, year by year.
“Our citizenship is in heaven”, Paul wrote. We really are not of this world. Our allegiance, goals, desires, and hopes are (or should be) wonderfully transformed. We act different because we are made different.
Sure, at Grace, we talk about going to church all the time. But here’s the secret: that’s not what we really mean. We are all testing the boundaries of what it means to engage with each other in meaningful fellowship where love abounds. Sometimes it’s really hard to do. We’ve been “trained” differently all our lives. It will take the rest of our lives to reach the pinnacle of maturity in this way, but we don’t have a choice. Our Lord dedicated his life so that this would be possible. He commands that we do the same.
On July 14th, Rick will pass the baton of Senior Pastor leadership to Nathan Marsh.
On July 15th, Nate will begin steering the course of Grace. The rest of us? We are not passengers; we are crew members. All due diligence is required to act as crewmen act (ie: as citizens of heaven), and to faithfully execute with all cheer and diligence the desire of our Commander-in-Chief. And that’s not Nate – it’s the Lord Jesus.