Looking Ahead to June 20, 2010 -- 4th Sunday After Pentecost

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• From the Jewish Scriptures: 1 Kings 9:8-15
• Psalm 42 & 43 (VU p.768)
• From the Gospel: Mark 4:35-41

The Hymns this week are:

• #374 Come and Find the Quiet Centre
• #245 Praise the Lord with the Sound of Trumpet
• #660 How Firm a Foundation
• #649 Walk With Me

The Sermon Title is Anchored or Adrift?

Early Thoughts: Two choices for any community or group (or even for us as individuals and families). Do we tie ourselves fast in place? Or do we sail madly wherever the wind takes us?

Some people and organizations have Will Your Anchor Hold as a theme hymn. They need and like the certainty of being grounded, of knowing where they stand. ANd there is good here. Being anchored and grounded means we know who and where we are. Being anchored allows us to plan carefully. But there is also a risk. We can become to firmly anchored, we can become stuck. We can think that this place where we are comfortable is where we always have to remain.

Some people and organizations have something more along the lines of I Feel the Winds of God Today as a theme hymn. They need and like the freedom to travel where the wind takes them, of being adaptive and changing with the world around them. And there is also good here. Moving with the wind allows us to meet emergent needs as they arise. We avoid becoming stuck and losing our relevancy. But of course there is also a risk here. We need a sense of who we are so that we can plan how to react to the winds. If we just fly free we can become really good at adapting but lose sight of why we are there in the first place.

In the end, most of us don't really live in either place most of the time. It is more helpful to envision a spectrum between those two points. And then we try to place ourselves along that line. Sometimes we are closer to the anchor, sometimes we are closer to the sail. Sometimes it depends where we are/what organization we are a part of/what our role in that place and time is. Because here is the secret. Any good ship needs both anchor and sail. Any good organization needs both as well. We need the benefits of being grounded and the freedom of coasting along.

Where are you on the spectrum? Where are the various communities and organizations of which you are a part?
--Gord