Daring Greatly

by | Jan 30, 2015

Congratulations on the theme you have chosen for our time together this evening. Well done on that. “Engaging a changing world with an enduring faith in Jesus Christ.” In many ways, I think you have described concisely what is the nature of our work. You have described both the challenge and opportunity for us as individuals and as a church. You have bookended the theme wonderfully with “engaging a changing world” on the one end, and the changelessness of Jesus Christ on the other end. What links those two ends- those two ideas- is what is in the middle. That is… “with an enduring faith.” One way that God reaches out to the world is through God’s church, that is, you and me.

With that said, when I consider the changing world, enduring faith, and Jesus Christ, two things come to mind: First, the words of the tenth chapter of the Book of Hebrews, “Así que no pierdan la confianza, porque esta será grandemente recompensada,” “Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours: it brings a great reward.” And then there are the words from President Theodore Roosevelt’s speech delivered in Paris in 1910. He said, “It’s not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles… the credit belongs to the one actually in the arena…who actually strives to do the deeds… who at the best knows the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, (if she fails) at least fails while daring greatly….” With those two texts in mind, the title of my address is Daring Greatly.

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