Last Monday night, we had our bi-monthly Church Council meeting. It was the first one of the New Year, so we did a little bit of reflecting on the last year. We talked about the sort of things you always talk about in these meetings: the budget, attendance, membership, staff matters, upcoming events and plans… etc.
At the end of the meeting, they always reserve time for me to share a few of my “Senior Pastor Comments.” Over the years, I’ve found that the shorter my comments, the more the Church Council loves me, so I normally try to limit my comments. However, this time I couldn’t contain myself. There are so many things I’m excited about that I wanted to share with them… and with you!

First of all, as you know in the last couple of months we have transitioned into our new worship space and we are currently in the process of transitioning into our new administrative space. I know virtually all of you have seen the sanctuary, but many of you may not have seen the new administrative space. I hope you will take the time to stop by. In addition to having a fresh and updated look, it is extremely functional and will serve our needs in ways that the previous space could not.

Additionally, we have launched our new website. After a two year process of doing a communications audit and a study on the best website model to use for our Church, the designers went to work and developed a website that reaches our target audience and serves our needs. If you haven’t already visited the website, I encourage you to do so as soon as possible at www.dunwoodyumc.org. If you have already visited, then you know this is one of the best ways to stay in touch with the happenings at the Church.

One of the ministries I am most excited about has to do with our counseling center. Last month, our Church, in conjunction with the Summit Counseling Center and the Dekalb County School System, has placed a counselor at Dunwoody High School. I know I don’t need to tell any of you of the opiod epidemic that exists among our young people, but what you may not know is that one of the most significant challenges facing our young people today has to do with anxiety. In fact, counselors will tell you that the three leading concerns among young people are “anxiety, anxiety, and anxiety.” Through your efforts and help, we now have a counselor placed at our local high school that can help these young people deal with the challenges they are confronting.

I could go on and talk about the potential expansion of our Leisure Ministries that we are currently working on and the plans that are underway to enhance our children and youth areas, but space limitations demand that wait for another day.

I know many of you are concerned about the upcoming General Conference of the United Methodist Church later this month. I understand your concerns and share them. However, I would remind you that as the body of Jesus Christ, you and I have a mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Regardless of the decision the General Conference makes that mission does not change. In fact, it is the love of Christ and the mission of the Church that draws us together and unifies us.

I’m grateful to be a part of a Congregation that refuses to loose sight of the mission of the Church and chooses to move positively into the future regardless of the decisions that are made over which we have no control.