Whether is it to a partner, a job, a responsibility or even just to an invitation to do something on a Saturday night... we can have gamophobia. That is a fear of commitment.
They say we're the options generation living with constant FOMO and FOBO. Or we let the pendulum swing completely the other way and have JOMO (this one was new for me!) and retreat within ourselves.
But as the body of Christ we are committed to one-another and we have a shared responsibility to see God glorified in our midst as we serve together and advance the good news of Jesus.
As Paul writes to the Ephesians chapter 3,
'So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.'
Therefore there is no joy in missing out on that! Nor ought we fear what commitment to Christ and his people will cost us in lost worldly opportunities. Instead we give ourselves wholly and joyfully to Jesus, his people and his mission.
One way we express this is through our commitment to our local church - giving, serving & being served, being present, sharing, being accountable, allowing ourselves to be vulnerable and praying for one another.
A small part of this is, together, taking responsibility for the mission before us and resources that we've been given by God to see his kingdom grown in our city. And one way we do that is via our Annual General Meeting.
At the AGM we hear about how we are going in our mission, finances and other issues related to our life together. We appoint people to the Admin Team who oversee this on our behalf. And we pray for them and ourselves that we will remain faithful and committed to what God has for us to do in this place.
So, can I invite you to join us for our AGM this Sunday at 12:30pm at Te Whaea? We will have a quick lunch at 12pm before the AGM in Drama 1.
Grace & peace,
Andrew