Grace@Work is one year old.
It officially starting functioning on 1st August 2000.
I recall the time well.
It was a scary time.
I could never have anticipated stepping out in faith like this at this stage of my life.
Would there be adequate funding? How will I survive ministering alone?
Would anyone come?
The recent dot com crashes are a vivid reminder that not every enterprise survives – and that includes ministry initiatives.
Therefore, I look back on this last first year of Grace@Work with profound gratitude.
God has seen fit to use Grace@Work to touch many lives.
The finances have been healthy.
Loneliness as a solo freelance worker?
Well we can”t get it all at once!
Still looking to Him for ways to build a more intentional team for the day to day work.
All in all God has been gracious indeed!
So pause for a second and thank God with me.
I also want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your encouragement, prayer, and material support.
But where do we go from here?
In recent months a key concept has been running through my mind – life literacy.
What does it mean to be a spiritually literate person?
What are the things we need to know to be able to follow Christ in the world?
I believe we need to know three things.
1. We need to know the world, the times we live in. Each age has its own peculiar dangers to the faith, and its own opportunities for the gospel.
2. We need to know ourselves . We all have our unique strengths and weaknesses, our unique blessings and wounds. They impact how we live and function.
3. We need to know the Word. God”s Word is the foundation of our lives and the only reliable yardstick we have to measure the world and our own lives.
These three areas of knowledge – the world, ourselves, and the Word, constitute a basic curriculum for life literacy.
Romans 12: 1-3 brings together these three concerns. There Paul exhorts the Roman Christians:
“Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world” -we need to know the world
“let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think” – we need to know the Word
“Be honest in your estimate of yourselves” – we need to know ourselves.
The world, the Word, ourselves – a basic triad of subjects for our life in Christ.
This then will be the new mission statement of Grace@Work:
“Grace@Work exists to help Christians grow in their understanding of the Word, the world, and themselves, so that they can better follow Christ.”
This is not a radical change in the direction of Grace@Work. If you were to reflect on the ecommentaries of the past year you will notice that they already touch on these three concerns.
Its just that these three areas will now be pursued more intentionally.
It should also be obvious that the progress of Grace@Work very much mirrors my own stumbling pilgrimage.
With the passing of time I have come to learn more about the Word and the world we live in. Most of all I have to understand myself a little better.
I am very excited by this evolution in Grace@Work.
I hope you are too as we journey together.
With the Lord the best is always yet to come!