Loving God When Nothing Is Blooming
February 2026
We enter a time of year when we are looking forward to spring. Soon, and not yet. A time of anticipation, and waiting. I have been investing time in my three goals for 2026. For those of you who cherish brevity, the following three points will share what I (and the trustees) have been up to!
Here is a list and full explanation of the Campus Manager’s Goals 2026
Goal 1: Campus as Mission, Not Just Maintenance / Goal 2: Clarify Governance and Reduce Operational Friction / Goal 3: Communicate Progress with Consistency and Clarity
You can access the Campus Utilization Tracker HERE
Visual representation of campus usage.
You can access the current Trustee’s To-Do List HERE
The yellow highlight on the spreadsheet indicates all that has been accomplished!
My thoughts about where Christ First is…
This time of year always reminds me of that Saturday after Jesus gave his life for us. The Apostles ran, they hid, they were confused and were afraid.
Christ First United Methodist Church is here, it’s our Saturday.
Many of us love this church. We remember when it was fuller, busier, and easier to maintain. Those memories matter, but they cannot guide the decisions we must make now.
This moment is not about preserving the past. It is about stewarding the future.
In this season, staying in leadership is no longer neutral. Showing up without acting is not faithfulness. Conversation alone will not move the church forward. Staying now means leading and leading means deciding.
These decisions require accepting more responsibility, not less. When churches struggle, the instinct is often to lower expectations and require less of people. But people are not inspired when less is required of them. They are inspired when they are trusted with meaningful responsibility and clear purpose.
A smaller church does not need weaker leadership. It needs clearer leadership.
Faithfulness in this moment means having the courage to imagine a different future and to act in alignment with it. That future will not be reached by holding onto everything we inherited. It will require saying no to some things we once affirmed, not because they were wrong, but because they no longer serve the mission we are called to carry forward.
Avoiding hard decisions does not protect the church. It delays clarity and quietly keeps us stuck. Every choice to delay is itself a decision.
Love for God in this season looks like obedience, not attachment. Love for the church means refusing to confuse loyalty with preservation. The church does not need more of what no longer gives life. It needs leaders willing to raise expectations, share responsibility, and act with clarity.
For me, the question is straight-forward:
Is Christ First willing to follow God’s leading into a future that asks more - not less - and to act accordingly?
St. Augustine famously highlighted the human tendency to embrace truth only when it comforts us, stating:
"We love the truth when it enlightens us, but we hate it when it convicts us". He argued that true love requires embracing truth even in rebuke, ordering our loves toward God, and acting on it.
The rest of the story… Scriptural Foundations for Our Current Season… As we navigate changing congregational dynamics, building needs, and the work of becoming one unified church family, Scripture offers both clarity and comfort. These passages ground us in God’s character, God’s provision, and God’s ongoing work among us.
God Is at Work in the Midst of Change
Isaiah 43:19 > “See, I am doing a new thing… I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
Philippians 1:6 > “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion…”
When Challenges Feel Overwhelming
2 Corinthians 4:8–9 > “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed… struck down, but not destroyed.”
Psalm 46:1 > “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
Growing Toward Unity as One Church Family
Ephesians 4:2–3 > “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient… Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit.”
Colossians 3:14 > “Above all, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”
God Provides What We Need for the Work Ahead
2 Peter 1:3 > “His divine power has given us everything we need…”
Philippians 4:19 > “My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory…”
Hope and Direction for the Future
Jeremiah 29:11 > “Plans to give you hope and a future.”
Proverbs 3:5–6 > “Trust in the Lord… and he will make your paths straight.”
A Single Unifying Word for This Moment
Ephesians 4:15–16 > “From him the whole body… grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”