Hello Calvary Church,

This is my first official and full week as the intentional interim pastor here at Calvary. I can tell you that I am thrilled and humbled by the very warm welcome that I have received. Thank you. So, you might be asking, what are the next steps? We will await the diagnostic initial oral report on Sunday November 5th. I hope you will make every effort to be there. It takes between 45 minutes to an hour to unpack the report (which will include a list of strengths for us to build on) and then an hour is reserved for Q&R (questions and response).

We will receive the final written report a few weeks after the initial oral report and there will be some very specific recommendations based on the synthesized data from the online survey and the input sessions. My primary role will be to partner with the elders and staff to equip and mobilize our congregation to move through the recommendations as we prepare for the next season of fruitful ministry in and through Calvary.

In the meantime, I have been meeting individually with our very impressive staff. I have asked each one to fill out what I call a “holy passion” questionnaire. From my perspective, sometimes we get so caught up in fighting our unholy passions that we don’t take the time to deeply consider and acknowledge the holy passions that God has placed within each one of us. It’s been a privilege for me to hear the stories of how God has called, shaped, and assembled these remarkable people for such a time as this. I see nothing but potential as we proactively engage this transition season.

As a community of Jesus followers, we have what I might call an “upper room opportunity.” In Acts 1:4 Jesus directed His disciples to “wait for what the Father had promised.” So, they returned to Jerusalem and ended up camping out in the upper room for 10 days. Can you imagine? One hundred and twenty exhilarated and (likely) disordered men and women waiting and wondering about next steps. So, they worshiped, and they prayed. Acts 1:14 tells us that, “These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer…”The Greek word for the transliterated phrase “one mind” is homothumadon. Our English translations don’t even begin to convey the strength and the ache of the word. The prefix  HOMO means, “at the same place or time; together.” THUMOS is the same word we get our English word “thermos” from, and it signifies a contained and sustained holy passion—along with a fierceness or indignation. So, a more literal translation might be: “To be together to engage in holy and passionate prayer, along with a fierceness and indignation.” This does not happen overnight yet it is the opportunity before us—to wait on the Lord and allow a refreshed commitment to worship, prayer, and grace empowered holy practices to build us into a unified people who are ready to call a permanent lead pastor and enter into the next season of focused and fruitful ministry.

Waiting is difficult. Yet waiting and listening are necessary. I want to personally invite you on this journey. And I’m thinking we can have some fun along the way too! (And if you play pickleball, let’s talk.)

See you on Sunday,

Pastor Gregg