All burned up

Today was a rather wonderful day at church as we celebrated both its 60 year anniversary and the burning of the mortgage. In the morning service we heard from 4 former pastors and were exhorted to be prepared; there will be no 'taking it easy' now that the mortgage is retired. In the evening service, we saw 2 people who have been with the church the entire 60 years, several for 50+ and a good number at 40+. Staci and I have called Bethel home for over 20 years now.

As we burned the mortgage, I thought of the many people who sacrificed heavily to buy the current property and construct our 2 buildings. We are so fortunate to have such a great set of buildings to worship, serve, play, and eat. If not for those who had sacrificed before us, we would not be able to serve the community with sports leagues in the gym, to serve those with special needs in Club Kangaroo, to serve the youth with skateboard ramps.

With that in mind, the reception after the evening service was a great trip down memory lane. There were many people present whom I had not seen for a long time, some who I see but haven't had a chance to laugh with for a while, and some who reminded me yet again of what it means to be a great person and live a great life. Besides the things I mentioned earlier, another incredible thing about our church is the number of truly incredible people. I wish I could name them here, but there are a handful of people who have had a profound influence on my life, those who are true to their faith, true to their lives, and true to their community.

As I drove home, I pondered on those people and their effect on me. Rarely was it something they said specifically to me, instead it was me watching them afar, catching them in conversation, or seeing them deal with tough times. I wonder how life would be if everybody had such role models, if everyone looked for such role models, and how my life would have been different without them. What a great night to honor the past, celebrate the present, and ignite the future.