Today is national “Welcome Back Sunday.”

Welcome Back!!?? Have people been away for a vacation?

Can you imagine the Israelites in hot pursuit by the Egyptian army? Chariots and horses are gaining on them. God is out in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night. All of a sudden the pillar of cloud just disappears and a voice comes from heaven (in Hebrew of course), “Sorry, I’m on vacation. Check back with me in a month.”

Some people are actually comforted to know however that God really doesn’t take vacations. The church does not go on vacation. We are always here and that is a good thing.

Today is the day we talk in plain language about the nuts and bolts of this parish. I’ll tell you the Good News first: The last shall be first and the first shall be last … and the harvest is plenty but the laborers are few.

It’s really all good news but some folks are perplexed and even concerned about the situation we are in right now. Look back at the Israelites in the desert. The whole congregation of the Israelites (200,000) complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, “If only we had died in Egypt. We may have been living with uncultured pagan people, but at least we had food to eat, but you have brought us out to this barren place to kill us with hunger.”

Moses risked his own life when he killed the Egyptian guard. He did not want to lead this ragtag band of Hebrew speakers. He tried to tell God that he had a speech impediment and could not articulate things well. God in turn said, “No problem. Your brother Aaron will speak on your behalf.”

With the Egyptian army about to close in on them, God intervenes again and they cross the Red Sea as if on dry land. The sea closes in on Pharaoh’s chariots and they all perish. The whole assembly of Israel did not have a very difficult decision when they chose to follow Moses out of the country. It was either follow the guy who had funny speech or be killed by the army.

By the time we get to today’s reading, the Israelites have been wandering in the desert long enough to get very hungry and wonder just where in the heck are they going. Some of them want to return to their days as slaves in Egypt which they consider to be better than their time in the hot desert sun.

Every leader, if they are doing their job, will encounter resistance which comes in two forms. Overt resistance is what Moses experienced. People complained directly about their situation. Covert resistance can be more subtle, ranging from secret plotting against the leader to just saying no to everything that comes along.

One of the first pitfalls people encounter with new leadership is assuming “We now have a great leader. Now we can return to the good old days the way it used to be.” This is a natural assumption, but it is wrong. No matter how good your leader may be, the future does not contain the good old days that this church or any church can return to. EVERYTHING has changed and continues to change rapidly. Grace Church can never return to the 1980s, or 1960s, or whatever period was the golden era. We MUST reinvent ourselves and with God; we will create a new golden era.

Reinventing ourselves involves change and risk taking. Not all change succeeds. Not all change is good. But without change there is NO growth. All churches that resist change fall into decline. So we must embrace change knowing that not everything is going to be helpful. We must be willing to laugh at what we tried that didn’t work out. For example, last year we tried “This Church Rocks” with contemporary music on Sunday nights. That effort did not succeed. What we learned from it is that promoting Grace Church activities in the Muskogee community is nearly impossible especially without a sign or any attractive presence at 6th and Broadway.

For Episcopalians change poses an even greater conundrum. How many Episcopalians does it take to change a light bulb? The answer is “You can’t change that light bulb. My grandmother gave that light bulb.” We really like things to be stable with fixed form prayers, worship, music, etc. But what good is stability when you are declining?

How do we preserve the best of our traditions, Episcopal culture, and worship styles while changing into something new, exciting, growth-filled, attractive to outsiders, and sustainable?

First I need to convince you of the urgency of our situation: We are getting our financial accounting and management into excellent shape for the first time in many years. We can now see clearly what we need to do. A year ago I was convinced that modest growth of four to six new people a year along with modest increases in income would keep us going. Now I can tell you that will not work. We need to grow in attendance, in financial contributions, and in ministries. We need to grow in time, talent, and treasure. We have about two years to make this happen.

How will we grow? What will we become? Where are we going?

You will grow Grace Church through your network of friends and contacts. I know many of you have invited friends already. While the building is being reconstructed in 2012 we need to be planning programs for the following year that will be very attractive to those outside the church. When we have attractive buildings, attractive programs, and personal invitations, more people will come.

What will we become? I can stay at Grace until I retire. I have plenty of ideas, energy, and drive. But I cannot do everything. Right now we need help with pastoral care and visitation of the sick and shut in. We need office volunteers even for just two hours a week to answer the phones. Nearly every ministry of Grace Church needs additional help and even leadership.

I know that many of you already do a lot for God at Grace Church. To all of you I can say “Thank you.” Also, look again at the Israelites in the desert. God did not feed them because they complained. God fed them to show them God’s power and how their faith made all the difference. So I tell you, “It’s hot out here in the desert. It’s a long ride. Hang in there. Your faith will make all the difference.”

Where are we going? What Muskogee lacks is a religious institution that is open to everyone without condition, and that encourages people to think for themselves. We do that very well. What we need to do is organize, advertise, gear up, and promote Grace Church as THE place for thoughtful people that accepts everyone.

Grace Church was the fourth church established in Muskogee. We are not the biggest church today. Jesus tells us however that the last shall become first.

Please attend the ministry fair. Roll up your sleeves. Get involved. Grace Episcopal Church in Muskogee has a fabulous future. Your faith and your participation will make all the difference.