First Lines: Renovations

First Lines: Renovations

by Griff Martin

First Austin E-News

August 22, 2017

The Notre Dame Cathedral is in bad shape these days. The sanctuary is in dire need of repairs, including weather-worn and ruined stone, and joints that need to be replaced. Fixing the cathedral is not an easy project; it will require the use of traditional material that is true to the core of the church that will not change its foundation, yet will allow it to remain a beacon of light in today’s world.

The estimated price tag for this work is $114 million.

In a recent interview, one of the fundraisers said this of the project: “We hope the Cathedral will last forever, but it cannot last forever without this renovation.”

The same statement could be made of every church today. If we want to remain a beacon of light in today’s world, we must be willing to renovate and to change; to think anew. We must be willing to find ways to be true to the very core of the church, and not to tradition, or to the way things have always been, or to your own preferred way of church.

At the very core of our foundation is a God who said, “I am doing a new thing, now it springs up… do you perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

There are new things occurring at First Austin right now…there is a new Governance structure that will soon be discussed and up for vote after hours and hours of committee work; we are going to try Chapel at 11am on the Second Sunday of most months in an effort to really push community and education during our Sunday School time; we are trying a new Sunday School model in order to build community and strengthen education; we are trying to streamline Wednesday nights to limit your time spent in traffic; we are presenting new and simple missional engagement to force us to face the issues of our city; and we are working to fully engage participation and variety in worship services.

And every one of these changes comes as a result of hours of prayer and meditation by staff and leadership asking these questions: How are we “the church” today? What is the best way for us to be “the church” today? How are we a beacon of light today? What must we renovate?

The good news is that this is not a $114 million project (although if you feel called to give financially to First Austin as a result of this newness, we welcome that). The bad news is historically it is easier to raise significant sums of money than to get people to be open to change.

But I know we are better than that.

So this is my request as your pastor….Be open. Ask questions. Engage. Don’t approach anything with a critical and reactive spirit (our world has enough of that). Limit your vocabulary from the words “if ___ changes, I am out of here” (those words are not part of the commitment you made to be part of this congregation). Be affirming and encouraging of those who have been brave enough to put forth new ideas. Find ways to add your ideas to this conversation.

God is doing new things today…. First Austin is going to be part of that new thing.

Grace and peace.

Griff