Heroes You Can Touch

Jeff Bjorgan

Spiritual Formation Pastor

This week I’m off on holidays with a purpose: I’m heading to Montana to visit a hero of mine, Eugene Peterson. Peterson is most known for his modern translation of the Bible, The Message, but I’ve been profoundly influenced by his books on pastoral theology. If you have been awake for any of my sermons, you may have heard his name mentioned every once in a while. Actually, it’s a goal of mine to include one Peterson quote in every sermon, just for fun. That’s better than my former goal of including a story about my dog Benji in every sermon. Yes, we grow and mature! Needless to say, I’m looking forward to the trip.

I have other heroes, and you are going to be hearing from some of them today. The Koch family left most of their belongings behind and walked into an unknown future, committing at least a year of their lives to the children of Mae Sot, Thailand. I’m really glad they are back and I’m looking forward to hearing their “kingdom” stories. The Koch family is a normal family that simply allowed themselves to take a risk for God and for others. That’s what makes them heroes. It’s so much better having heroes you can connect with, build relationships with, learn from through friendship and storytelling. Take advantage of the heroes amongst us. Get to know the families around you.

Renovation update:  We are pleased with the funds that are coming in –still looking for us to meet the goal of matching the outside gift of $50,000. We can do it! You will notice the sound and media booth are now down. Next in store will be the staging. By mid-August you should see improvements as painting takes place and the baffles go back up. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished project of turning the sanctuary into a gym!