Jesus says in John's gospel  "I have much more to say to you, but you can't handle it now. However, when the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you in all truth. He won't speak on his own, but will say whatever he hears and will proclaim to you what is to come."

 

Sometimes it's hard to wait on what the Spirit has next for us.  As I sit in our sessions at Holston Annual Conference over four days this week, I feel torn about  what might come next.  It's no secret that our denomination is going through some division and strife, and it's very easy to look toward the future with a sense of negativity.  "What if what the Spirit has for us next is a split? What if there is no United Methodist Church?" have been questions I've asked myself. 

 

But then, I see the hopeful future. For example, our Annual Conference just elected a young woman to lead our Laity Delegation as the youngest lead delegate in Holston's history; Annual Conference's "Change For Children" program has raised nearly $60,000 for children; our churches, including FFUMC, collected thousands of buckets of food, school supplies and medical kits for Zimbabwe, worth nearly a quarter million dollars.  And there is of course much good work happening at First Farragut and around the District, Conference and entire United Methodist Church as a whole.  

 

So I am encouraged by what the Spirit has next for us as a church, and I hope, that in the midst of uncertainty, you are too. 

 

Blessings,