Our Caleb Moment
A Word from Pastor Henry
“Now, therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke on that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.” (Joshua 14:12; NKJV)
When I retired from the military, the last thought I had was getting back into pastoral ministry. I wanted to travel and do ministry in exotic places around the world. There was definitely no thought or intention of being stationary in the US. I told myself that I did my time and sacrificed so I could now do what I wanted. So, what was Caleb thinking? At age 85, surely Caleb would want to travel in a Winnebago, take a cruise, knock some items off his bucket list, or at least sit back and let the younger, more sprightly Israelites take care of the heavy lifting of ministry. Yet Caleb said, “give me this mountain.”
Calvary is at that crossroads in facing this disaffiliation process. At this time in our church’s life, maybe we look back at our programs, professions of faith, baptisms, confirmations, and the devotion to knowing Christ and making Him known that has taken place in the last 100+ year history of our church. Maybe we think we’ve done enough. Perhaps our lovely edifice fooled us into believing we had arrived. Yet, with this changing season, God is calling us to a new challenge, a new adventure, an uncharted, unexplored mountain ministry.
What does it mean for us? I am not entirely sure, but there is no doubt this is our Caleb moment. Perhaps God is challenging us to reset ourselves in His image because of the lost generations that need Him. Possibly, He knows at most churches people will find “a form without power” (2 Tim. 3:5), programming without purpose, meetings without the mission, Word without Spirit, and religion to practice rather than God to worship. Maybe He is saying, “Calvary, I need you for such a time as this!”
God is calling us! Will we shy away because we may face challenges and strongholds in the land? Or will we trust God has called us and accept this new mission head-on? If God is still God, then our answer is clear.
