February 7, 2010
Unshaken
The images of the horrible devastation of the earthquake in Haiti will be on our minds for many years to come. It will take years before life in Haiti will feel normal again. Our church in the past few weeks has collected over $ for relief efforts! You are a generous, giving people.
We talk about waiting for the “next big one” to happen in the Bay Area. But frankly, I can’t say that I have really experienced an earthquake. I wasn’t born in 1906. I wasn’t here in 1989 but like the rest of the country, I was watching the World Series when it all happened. I haven’t had to “duck, cover, and hold.” There have been some tremblers like the one I experienced in San Diego this past week. But it’s nothing like what we see in Haiti today.
For the most part, we have been “unshaken.” We have not been disturbed from either powers inside the church or powers outside the church, from pastors leaving or pastors coming, from year to year, from 2009 to 2010. The writer of Hebrews said, “We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe” (12:28). When we trust God’s kingdom to be steadfast and unwavering, we have a grateful confidence to worship God in both word and deeds.
I am completely confident that our church, the Body of Christ, known as the First Chinese Baptist Church is unshaken in the Lord. If or when the “next big one” comes, nothing can shake us off our firm foundation of being in the Lord.
Our Sunday worship attendance bears this out. Our average attendance for 9:10 is 66; 10:20 is 107 and 11:30 is 100. This means that our average attendance for worshipers on a Sunday morning is 273. When we add the children in Sunday school on a Sunday morning, we have more than 350 people coming to our church on any given Sunday. This is a sure sign of stable attendance and church growth.
2010 is our 130th Church Anniversary. We’ll take time to celebrate our long and faithful ministry in Chinatown on 10-10-10. We’ll reminisce about the past, become reacquainted with old friends, and rededicate ourselves to our enduring mission as a church in the years to come. Our faith that there’s a future can be found in how we have been unshaken in our purpose in the past.
Our church building will be seeing some improvements this year with the cleaning and repairing of our 6 beautiful sanctuary stained glass windows. We’ll bring them back to their original radiance to enhance our worshiping experience. Continuing our commitment to be an even “greener” church, we’ll be installing 81 solar panel collectors to generate 107% of our electrical needs. Our church building remains as it has since 1888 to be a stable and trustworthy witness of Christ in Chinatown. Just as we have done in the past, we are continuing the legacy of being Christ’s light in the world.
Shake It Up
While on the one hand, being unshaken is a good thing; on the other hand, shaking things up is also a good thing.
Our son likes the fast-food restaurant, “Steak & Shake.” We used to do a lot of “Shake & Bake” for dinners. I still like MacDonald’s milkshakes. And if you want the best taste of your morning orange juice, you need to shake it up to get the pulp mixed in first.
Before we begin a pastoral search for the Assistant Pastor position, we are taking some time to hear your ideas and visions so that we might shake things up to be sure that we’ll have the ideal staff team that we can possibly create.
Our predictable and familiar church calendar is regularly being shaken up with new opportunities for mission and learning. Last year’s mission trip of 6 of our very best members to Thailand is transforming our understanding of doing mission at our church. The upcoming Holy Land Pilgrimage will introduce 34 people of which two-third are from our church will rearrange our perspective about our reading the Bible and our understanding about the issues in the Middle East. When we are able to see the world from another vantage point, our lives are shaken up for the better.
A few moments ago, we approved perhaps one of the biggest shake-ups in the history of our church. Your courage and confidence to recognize God’s plan for us to expand our ministries across the street in the YMCA is downright remarkable. We have literally shaken out our savings account, a quarter of a million of dollars to follow God’s will for us. With this available space, we’ll be able to add another Sunday worship service, have more Sunday school spaces, ensure the strength of our sports ministry, and stabilize our present commitment to serve God and this community for years to come. Our horizon of thinking just about this building is now stretching across the street. We have yet to imagine all the new possibilities of what this decision will do for our church.
I am grateful to you for your unshaken worship to the Lord. Many of you were here before I came in 1998 as your senior pastor. I pray that many of you will remain here when it’s time for me to complete my ministry. I want you to know that with God’s help and your faithfulness in the Lord and your confidence in the church staff and me, I plan to be serving FCBC for many years to come. I am unshaken in my commitment to be your pastor.
God’s kingdom is unshaken. Our church is strong in the Lord and we are unshaken in our worship. Based on our steadfast and unwavering confidence in God’s mission for us, we are ready to shake things up to remain ever ready to serve the Lord in 2010!
Let us pray.
Bless this church, O God for we strive in humility to do your will in this world. Standing on the strong and unshaken foundation built on Jesus Christ our cornerstone, we pray that you will continue shaking us up with new ideas and ways to reach more people with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Thank you, Lord for your utmost trust in us to be your Body of Christ in Chinatown and around the world. Amen.