The Significance of the Annual Business Meeting

February 16, 2010

Next Thursday, February 18th, we will have our annual business meeting in which we vote on issues such as the 2010 budget and confirm eldership for Peter Kinkel and Don Vander Giessen.  It may be tempting to understand these items as the centerpiece of our meeting.  Yet our desire is that the meeting be much more than an opportunity to vote.  In particular, we want at least three things to happen:

1.  Remembering the year behind

Our annual meeting is a key opportunity to reflect on the previous year and recall God’s faithfulness, remember what we have invested in for the spread of the Kingdom, grieve over losses, learn from mistakes, and celebrate a year of life together in Christ.  This is meant to sober us, encourage us, reinvigorate us, and humble us.

2.  Dealing with current situations

Clearly items of voting such as the church budget and the confirmation of elders are significant to the current functioning of our church.  Along with these, we occasionally have issues regarding church members that need to be addressed.

This year we need to address two situations involving divorce in which members who now live in different cities do not seem to be walking in Christian obedience.  This is a sobering issue to discuss, but one that we must take seriously if we take the gospel and church membership seriously.  While these members are being taken off the membership role by the sheer nature of their being absent from our fellowship, we feel the need to share our communication to them with the broader body for the sake of your prayers and potential involvement.

3.  Looking to the year ahead

As we walk through 1 Corinthians 12-14 on Sunday mornings, a number of questions beg to be answered about how we live out the vision of body life that Paul paints.  More broadly speaking, another year of awaiting Jesus’ return demands that we assess how we are fulfilling the central mission he left us: make disciples of all nations.  We hope the annual meeting will afford us an opportunity to look forward together to how 2010 might be a year of glorifying God by reaching up, in, and out together.

My prayer is that you will make attending Thursday’s meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the Fireside Room a priority and that God would be honored by our time together.

In Christ with you,

Pastor Chris