Earlier this week, I got an email from the Property & Finance team with the subject line “Two Pines CBC.” At first glance, I misread this line because my brain sometimes connects things in weird ways. In this case, my brain connected “Two Pines CBC” to an upcoming meeting about reigniting the door replacement project. In the past, we’d reached out to other churches to ask about their doors so my brain connected an email with the subject “Two Pines CBC” to the upcoming door meeting and assumed someone had checked with a church called Two Pines Baptist Church to ask about their doors. I was wrong.
“Two Pines CBC” was actually an email about the two pine trees in between the sanctuary and education building—two trees we’ve discussed and highlighted before as we face the sad reality of a disease that’s slowly killing them. At the next Property & Finance meeting, the team will address this issue and work to schedule their removal before they become more of a hazard and danger.
As I reflected on my mistake, my brain got busy making other connections and I had to laugh with gratitude. I mean, can you imagine how stressful it would be if a place called Two Pines Baptist Church was faced with having to remove their two pine trees? That might be quite the identity crisis. I’m so grateful that’s not the case here.
I’m so glad we haven’t tied our identity to something so mutable. Instead, we’ve claimed the moniker of “Community” and “Baptist.” And while, these two identifiers have roots that go far deeper than any tree, they too can be susceptible to disease and decay if we’re not careful.
It’s up to us to keep working at becoming the beloved community—to love our neighbors as ourselves, to do unto others as we would have them do unto us, to feed the hungry, heal the sick, clothe the naked, and visit those held captive. I pray this is where we find our strength, our purpose, and, dare I say, our salvation. Beloved of God, I pray we stay rooted in Christ, grow in love, and live fully into our identity as Community Baptist Church.
In Love,
Pastor Annette