ConneXus Blog

by Julia Fowler, Worship Arts Pastor

Seriously, how can I even begin to say good-bye.  Since music is my favorite medium I would suggest a song—perhaps the Von Trapp family singers rendition from the Sound of music: “So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu”, but alas, even a song seems so terribly inadequate for this unique occasion. 

I know I won’t be able to express all that my heart feels for you, for this church, for the church staff, for the years of memories, experiences, labors, investments or rewards that have accumulated over the past 8.5 years—words again are simply insufficient to encapsulate an accurate account of true life.  And yet, out of these experiences I have learned, I have grown, I have been stretched and have come to know and Love the Lord and His people so much more deeply, and fiercely than I ever knew possible.  Worshipping the Lord IS good! 

For years I have tried to add in the task of redefining worship since so many people think that praise and worship is only singing songs at church.  With this final opportunity, I want to drive home for you again that it is so much more!  Worship is also a condition of your heart—it is a willingness on your part to exalt God and to yield to his will.  Worship is an expression of love and awe to the God who gives us so much more than we deserve!!  Whether you express your worship by singing, playing music, helping others, giving of your resources or in some other way, remember that you are called to worship God with your every action, every day of your life.  God is holy, loving and worthy of all our worship and devotion.

It is true that for us both, myself and this church body, one chapter of our lives is closing but this also gives way for a new one to begin.  A blank slate, if you will, awaits God’s people without boundaries and without limitations.  It is up to us whom we will serve on this day and in the days ahead. 

As I move into the unwritten chapter ahead I am referring often to God’s Word for strength and direction, perhaps this morning God’s promise to Joshua, who was also starting a new chapter of leadership, will encourage you, as it has been encouraging me:

“Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea ^[a] on the west. No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them”.  — Joshua 1:4-6

I will be praying and watching how God continues to guide and direct the future of this great, great vessel of ministry. 

In Christ Alone! — Pastor Julia Fowler

by Julia Fowler, Worship Arts Pastor

Test: “¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:13-14)

In the television series The West Wing, fictional president Josiah Bartlet regularly ended staff meetings with two words—“What’s next?” It was his way of signaling that he was finished with one issue and ready to move forward onto other concerns.  The pressures and responsibilities of life in the White House demanded that he not focus on what was in the rear-view mirror—he needed to keep his eyes ahead, moving forward to what was next. (Our Daily Bread)

The past holds many truths, revelations, experiences, tragedy and joys and there is value in ‘what was’, but our focus in life cannot be on what is behind.  Much in the same way that you would never get in your car, put it into drive and then turn around to watch the road sail past behind you.  We cannot stop the progressive nature of this life to move forward—it is marching ahead with or without your attention.  This is why I find Paul’s testimony here in Philippians 3 so encouraging – He basically says, look, I haven’t mastered this yet but this is what I’m striving to do: stop focusing on what ‘has been’ and strain, or make an EXTREME EFFORT to look, see and then to move in a future/forward direction.  Forward is where God is going, and my eyes are fixed on Him.   Paul learned that it wasn’t so much about the ‘what had been’ but rather that it was all about the ‘what’s next!’.

There are many days of uncertainly ahead for all of us, but if God is for us then who can be against us?  Keep your eyes fixed on him, your focus set on His direction, and He will guide your paths!  Stay flexible, stay committed, stay positive and he will show you ‘what’s next!’

by Julia Fowler, Worship Arts Pastor

Test: “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” (Psalm 25:5)

"One night an Admiral on a US Navy Battleship ordered a certain course. The navigation officer, seeing a light in the distance, reported that the battleship now seemed to be on a collision course with another ship. So the Admiral ordered his radio officer to send a message to the on-coming ship that it should change its course 10 degrees to the south. The reply came simply, 'No. You change YOUR course 10 degrees to the south.' After two more unsuccessful exchanges, the Admiral, now quite furious, came thundering into the radio control room, grabbed the microphone, and bellowed into it, 'Do you know that you are talking to an ADMIRAL in the UNITED STATES NAVY!' After a brief moment of silence, the even tempered reply came back, 'Sir, do you know that YOU are talking to the lighthouse?'"

It’s a great illustration of how I handle so many situations in my own life.  I confess I like things to be in order and I like having a plan—I also like plans that are well thought out, orderly and dependable with minimal risk or calculation for error—did I mention, that’s what I LIKE! 

Since early in life I learned I don’t always get what I like. I’ve had to adapt to expecting more flexible results (mind you, that doesn’t change the first part of my equation).    God made me in the part of His image that means to be more organized, professionally planned and reasonable, BUT when he tells me to change direction I believe he’s telling me to do so for my benefit!  As in the case of the Admiral’s Battleship, the lighthouse feedback was not merely meant to disrupt or even tick off the Admiral.  The warning was to change course so that devastation could be avoided. 

Now don’t read too much into all this, it’s just what the Lord put on my heart today.  Sometimes we think that changes course means total annihilation of the previous plan.  It seems awkward and strange and scary and so our gut reaction is to stay on the course we planned for ourselves to be on.  I know many of you can testify to this very idea – you thought it was going to go one way, and low and behold it wound up taking you down a path you never imagined.  I think this is why David wrote so many verses and passages underlined with repeated surrender to God’s way, his truth and his sovereignty.   God can be very much like the lighthouse for us—he sees exactly where we are and fortunately, if we will listen, he knows exactly what feedback to give us to correct our course and keep us from otherwise certain troubles.  He cares for us, loves us, wants to see us succeed in the deepest way.  It is worth it to put our hope in him, as David wrote, “All day long”, because he is our God and He is good!

Whether it’s a 10 degree correction or just a simple nudge, keep an open ear to how the Lord might want to change your course.