Taking the plunge

Having 'The River' as your church name is kinda fun. There's all kinds of things you can do with a 'whitewater rafting' image. This one is about plunges. I have no idea what the correct lingo is for this, but you get the idea- you're going down a river in a kayak or raft, and then you drop down a waterfall. When I went rafting, the drops were three or four feet. Not very big in rafting terms, maybe, but plenty big for me. I remember them as being both the most exciting parts of the trip and the most terrifying.

And that is what the newest stage in The River's life is: exciting and terrifying. We're going to rent our own facility. We're doing it because we think God wants us to do it, and because we think the things we can have in that facility will be a great blessing to lots of folks and will help them in their spiritual journey. That is the exciting part. The terrifying part is that we can't afford it. We don't collect enough in offerings each way to fully fund it. But we're doing it anyway. Why? Well, what have we got to lose? Either God is God, or God isn't. If God is not really God, then this is all a big waste of time and doesn't matter anyway. But if God really is God, then God is in charge, and God will do amazing and wonderful things through this. Even if we "fail" according to our standards, God's purposes will be accomplished.

I think maybe God has been watching us and seeing us take small steps and waiting for us to take the plunge. To be exciting, to confront the terrifying, to start riding down this journey without fear of what will happen. So that's what we're doing. It's an exciting time, a terrifying time, and a time of great opportunity. I think God is up to something great here. Right now, all we see is the drop off. I think we're going to come through this plunge laughing, crying, and soaking wet; alive in our baptisms as never before.

We're taking the plunge. I hope you'll come along.