I think one of the most profound movies that I have seen in recent memory is the Disney/Pixar movie "Up". After the first 15 minutes of the film, not only was I thinking about my own mortality, but I was also contemplating all of the missed opportunities in my own life. Just like the film's Carl Fredricksen, there were times where life's challenges and my narrow focus caused me to miss seeing the "Russells" that God was putting in my pathway. Just like Carl, I saw them as annoyances and inconveniences rather than opportunities for relationship, more focused on what was out of reach than reaching out.
The church in Acts was no different than Carl. Christ had commissioned His church to "Go" to the uttermost parts of the world and instead they stayed in the innermost chambers of their comfort zone. And like Carl, it took some unpleasant situations for the church to open its eyes and arms to compassionately reaching others in a relevant way.
Today we stand at a similar crossroad. We face challenges no different than the church in Acts in our own neighborhood including education, homelessness and immigration. Will the "Great Commission" become the "Great Omission" in our lives? Or will we "Consider Where God Has Placed Us" and like Carl Fredrickson in "Up" seize the opportunity to reach out and transform our community in this Ecotonic Moment.
In Christ,
Eric V. Johnson
Lake Avenue Community Foundation
Stars MS/HS Program Manager