The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior."
"But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."
The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"
"But Lord," Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."
The LORD answered, "I will be with you…”
~Judges 6:11-16~
The amazing story of Gideon has been an important touchstone for me this year. Gideon reminds me of several key truths: first, that as God’s people (individually and corporately) we can accomplish nothing of eternal value without the power and presence of the Lord going with us; second, we cannot predict what the future will look like (and it is often very different from what we expect); and third, if we listen and do the things we know the Lord has instructed us to do, we can trust Him in all circumstances to be faithful to us and not abandon us.
This past year we have talked a bit about liminality, or “liminal space”— a psychological and spiritual space we have the opportunity to inhabit where we are between “what came previously” and “what is coming next”. It is like a threshold or a doorway between two rooms where we are not in either room, but leaving one and entering another. One of my favourite authors, Richard Rhor, says this about liminality:“Once-a-week church services do not usually come close to creating liminal space. It [usually] takes that long just to stop wondering whether you turned off the gas stove and to even begin to get your own errant emotions under control. There has to be something longer, different and daring, non-sensical, “anti-structure,” to explain the meaning of the assumed structure. It is almost always counterintuitive, and not logical or sensible at all.” Liminality leaves us open to considering possibilities we have never considered before. I believe this concept of liminal space describes where Tapestry has been and is presently positioned. We are not, like Gideon, hiding in a winepress to thresh our wheat, but neither are we overthrowing the Midianites…yet.
This last year has been a season of deep growth for our congregation—not in numerical increase, not in new programs launched, not in big projects completed, but in a deep and quiet work of the Spirit in people’s lives as He reveals more and more of His love, grace, and power. One Tapestry partner I spoke with recently called it something “profound and beautiful”. I could not agree more. The Lord is binding us together in our shared experience of His grace. And as that grace increases, so too do the gifts He pours out on His people (Rom 12:3-8).
The emphasis for the season ahead is Strengthen the Core. The Leadership Team has a powerful sense of the Spirit leading us to do the things we know and allow Him to unfold the future in His time. With that as the backdrop, we will radically and passionately pursue the following 5 Core Elements in the life of our congregation in the months ahead: Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Stewardship, and Leadership. I am extremely encouraged by the collective sense we share among the elders that, like Gideon, God is saying to us “go in the strength you have…and I will be with you.”
Here is what I see…
We will be mighty warriors.
We will go in the strength we have; we will focus on what we know and be what He has commanded us to be; we will not focus on obstacles, we will depend on His strength; we will offer what little we have and expect Him to feed multitudes; we will lend Him our ears and believe He will speak; we will pray for the lost and trust He will save; we will share with the poor and know He will bless; we will love one another because He first loved us.
This is the vision we are pursuing at Tapestry and everyone is invited.
Rev. Kevin Loten
Lead Pastor
