The First Baptist Church of Redlands
TA PE S T RY Woven Together In Love: Colossians 2:2 MARCH 2017
ISSUE No. 3
A MESSAGE FROM PASTOR SHAWN
A Pastoral Letter
Recently Dr. Samuel Chetti, the Executive Minister for our ABC region asked if I would be willing to write a pastoral letter along with a few other pastors that would be distributed around the region. I decided I would share that letter with you as my Tapestry article this month. I hope you will find them to be words of comfort and encouragement. Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, One of the greatest forces that I encounter around me every day is fear. Whether I am feeling fear myself over big things or little things, whether fear is the motivator for my actions or inactions, or it is just an oppressive feeling that is present in my day, fear is a force in my life. But it’s not just in me. It is all around me and has been for a long time. It is a force that is causing us to be afraid of others, one that is resulting in a closing of ranks, a circling the wagons. Fear is not a new thing, but in recent months it has grown to be very powerful in our society and in our churches. I have observed in the past two people, whether family members or church family, who have disagreed on politics can debate and even argue with one another and in the end laugh and continue to love one another and work together. I am discovering that more and more people are at best avoiding any kind of discussion about politics and government when they don’t agree. At worst, I have seen people walk out on one another and even break off relationships. We find ourselves walking on eggshells around one
another at times. Preachers preach the same basic message that they did two years ago and now it is deemed “too political.” Churches, out of fear, are placing safety and security above the mission of the gospel. People spew out words of hate and anger and say it is in the name of “love.” It is hard being a Christian when you are afraid…or should I say being a follower of Christ. When I think of fear and what the opposing force is, words like courage, bravery and even peace come to mind. But scripture says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear…” (1 John 4:18). This statement is surrounded by a message about love which is rooted in God as love. The love that we have is rooted in being loved by God such that we do not have to fear even death itself. A love like that is a most powerful force, one that can with all its might hurl fear into the farthest point in the universe. This love is not a sloppy sweet emotion. It is the kind of love that Jesus is talking about when he says love your neighbor…a Samaritan, who is the “kind” that “your kind” has hated for generations. It is the kind of love that doesn’t stop at
loving neighbor but loves enemy and prays for the one who persecutes you. It is the kind of love that requires courage and bravery. It requires God’s Spirit being actively at work through us. It requires being willing to turn the other cheek, give up our cloak and walk the extra mile. It is this kind of love that must be the motivator behind all of our actions and words as the Body of Christ. This means the big things, as we discern our future and the outworking of our mission, and the little things, as in how we treat one another in person, on social media and behind someone’s back. We have a long road ahead of us and this is a matter of life and death. The very mission of the Church is dependent upon living in love not fear. My prayer is that as the people of God may we wake up every day and ask God to fill us with the love that casts out all fear. May the world know us by that kind of Love! Love in Christ, Rev. Dr. Shawn Zambrows Senior Pastor, The First Baptist Church of Redlands