Today my dear friend will be ordained into Christian Ministry!  I'm excited for her and for where God will move in her life and into the church through her.  It's a tough time to be church.  Our denomination is small...ok, denominations are dying.  Our General Assembly this summer reminded us of the stark picture we paint in dwindling numbers and older congregations.

But if you flip the coin...which I like to do...I think it's an exciting time to be church!  Yes, it's like stepping into confusion and chaos, but there are amazing things happening when we center our lives on God.  Reclaiming scriptures and centering our worship back on God rather than us and offering ourselves, our gifts and our time to God's movement is powerful!

My friend is going to face so much in the church of tomorrow.  It's not the church of yesterday, but the church of yesterday isn't really what we want to think it was either.  I've come to understand recently how broken it truly was.  The church of tomorrow is God centered, life giving, loving, forgiving and full of grace...it's sanctuary in a chaotic world!

by the way, I'm preaching at her ordination...it's an honor that humbles me.  Please ask God's blessing on Kara Swartz as she enters into a new phase of God's movement.