The Future's So Bright ...

Back in the mid-1980s, a husband & wife duo of musicians from Austin, TX, calling themselves Timbuk 3, released an album of music that included a song destined to bring them fame and fortune, at least for a time. The name of the song, "The Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades," spoke in the voice of a young person getting ready to graduate from college with a high-paying job waiting and a lot to look forward to in life.

You may remember the song-whether you want to or not-because it was featured in a long list of movies and television programs, in addition to climbing to a prominent place on the pop music charts. The catchy chorus became an anthem for a culture of youth, in which value was placed in wealth, status, and what a person could accumulate.

What many people miss about the song, however, is the fact that it was intended to be satirical, a critique of a society that was focused more on living in the moment, without a real consideration for the long term. Ironically, the "future" mentioned in the song was not really a vision of a better society, but a look into the immediate future, as in next week or next month. The speaker's vision for the future is a time when he can "buy a lot of beer."

Over the past few weeks, I've been thinking a great deal about the future. Personally, I have reached a time in my life when planning for the future is critically important and I'm glad to say that I am envisioning a bright future for my family. But I'm also thinking about the future of our church and my ministry with you over the next few years. What will our church look like in two years? In five years? In ten?

Hopefully, you know that our Administrative Council met in early January for a visioning session. It was a "second edition" of this process, following the same pattern that we used two years ago. The ideas we discussed that day were refined at our regular Council meeting in late January and we began the work of gathering input from the congregation this past Sunday. When you arrive for worship this Sunday, you'll find a copy of the idea list in your bulletin and the Council asks that you offer your opinions of what the most important ministry priorities should be for us over the next two years. We've included a copy of the form in this newsletter, too, so that your voice can be heard even if you can't make it to worship on Sunday.

What we found in working on a plan and carrying out that plan over the last two years was that we got more accomplished. We were more focused and able to work toward real, achievable goals. Much of what we are doing today, including our current building renovations, is the result of the plan we formulated in the spring of 2009.

Having these visioning plans allows us to build a future that is more important than whether we can sustain our ministries for another year or pay our bills. Our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, and we believe that the way to do that is to have a vision for the future.

But there's something else we need to remember. Sometimes, we can get so focused on our plans and what they will mean for our church-new people, new ministries, new growth-that we forget our real purpose. We can get so excited about what is happening for us that we start thinking about buying some sunglasses because the future is looking so bright.

So think of it this way instead. We are here to bring light into a dark world. We all know that evil is all around us, that self-centeredness leads people to all sorts of terrible action, that the innocent often suffer. Yet we also know there is a light so bright that this darkness cannot overcome it. It is the light of God that has come to us in Jesus Christ.

God is with us. Whatever future we have, no matter how bright it may be, is a future that comes from and leads to God, the ultimate source of light.

Grace and peace,

Pastor John