A New Year

January 22, 2020

Leadership Notes

January is a good month for easing out of the holidays and into a new flow. It's a great month if you're a football fan. Playoffs and Super Bowl. It's a great month if you're not a football fan. The season is almost over! We catch our breath from December, while gearing up for our Annual Meeting and the important work of the Nominating Committee. I like January. Doesn't matter whether it's warmer or colder than usual; January is a good month.

One of my big projects for January and February is preparing for a new Adult Education class I'll be leading starting in March. From what I've heard, this could be another divisive election year in America. Rumor has it that people can stake out some rather polarizing positions. We'll see what happens.

To help keep our hearts and heads above the fray, I'll be leading a class based on two books:

* Jesus and Gin: Evangelicalism, the Roaring Twenties and Today's Culture Wars.

* Jesus Outside the Lines: A Way Forward For Those Who Are Tired of Taking Sides.

The first book is by a Professor of History at Baylor University. A common theme throughout the book is the more things change, the more they stay the same. The only difference seems to be the technology. I just finished the chapter on the Scopes Monkey Trial. Hollywood and the press made a mess of misrepresenting that whole affair. Sound familiar?

The second book is by Scott Sauls, senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville. He served alongside Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. He delivers solid guidance on how to engage culture without engaging in the culture wars. If you're not attending a Sunday morning class, you might want to consider this one.

It is a joy and an honor to be serving alongside you in the ministry God has called us to here in the greater Lenawee County area. I love the people of Covenant Church and can't imagine serving in any other way, shape, or form.

Be of Good Cheer,

Richard