Pastor's Blog: Homecoming
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As many of you have discovered from your summer travels, the distance home never seems to be as long as the time it took to get to your destination. While we always like to break away from routines so that we can find rest and renewal, it’s always good to get back to the familiar and reconnect with everyday life. Even as we age, we still have within us the need to reconnect with the places and the people that make us feel secure.
This week I’ll have the opportunity to do that as I return to my home church, the York Baptist Church, to preach this year’s “Homecoming Sunday.” Normally, the church holds an end of summer revival each year. But with the church still emerging from the past year’s COVID restrictions, the Deacons thought it best to have the one service, and to make it a homecoming event. Now that my parents are deceased, I don’t have opportunity to get back to my hometown except for these types of events. But every time I do, I find immense renewal in the fond memories I have of the place and the people who shaped me spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually.
I hope Mountain Brook Baptist Church serves that purpose for all of the young people who grew up in our church. One of the best tests of our effectiveness in faith development is the depth of gratitude people have toward our congregation. Circumstances may have taken them away from our community, but the spiritual lessons they learned and the relationships they developed continue to bless them to this day. They cannot get Mountain Brook Baptist Church out of their hearts, even as I can’t get York Baptist Church out of mine.
I invite you to think about our responsibility in this regard as everyone begins to return from their summer excursions and get ready for the fall. Think of the people who need your encouragement and support. Be ready to accept the new folk God sends our way who are looking for a “church home.” Church should be the one place where all feel safe, welcomed, and loved. Church should be the place where everyone feels most at home.
“Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young – a place near Your altar, LORD Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house, they are ever praising You” (Psalm 84:3-4).