Little Ones, It’s Time to Come Together

2020 spoiled a good plan. I had rented an AirBnB large enough for about 10 people. We were to gather on a Friday in late March, spend the night together, and welcome Saturday morning in the company of brothers. Yes, the pandemic stuck a rotten pin in the plan.

Yet it was not the end.

My vision had been to introduce the Restoration Network at the level of the local conference, in this case the Heritage Conference. We had previously brought together pastors from across the Eastern Region with great enjoyment and success. This was to be the same, but different. Different only because of the unique opportunities available to a gathering of conference pastors. Our proximity offered the chance for deeper relationships and real collaboration.

2020 was disappointing. 2021 had me still catching me breath. 2022, I was resolved to do something. Something took form because my fellow ministers in Heritage answered the call; they shared my desire to break our isolation.

In April, we met for breakfast at Rockland Community Church. We caught up with each other, shared in a time of “constructive conversation”, and prayer together. We resolved to meet again to build from this foundation, to get beyond talk of working together as pastors and churches and to start taking real steps.

We met again at Camp Marion on the last Friday in August. We had lunch and discussed practical ways we could come together to accomplish things we couldn’t do well on our own. It’s not all worked out, but we have actual ideas now and a rudimentary timeline. It’s progress.

To be clear, we’re not undermining our conference board. Their members participate in our gatherings. We exist to turn the soil, to cultivate ideas, and to fill the sails of our conference leaders so we can move forward together.

Why do I share all this? I share because I want to encourage my fellow Advent Christian pastors to step up. Sometimes we can feel like we’re trapped in one of those terrible dreams where we have neither voice nor strength to resist terrible evil. We feel caught in the riptide, helpless to do anything to change the fate of our churches and denomination.

Wake up little ones! It’s just a bad dream. Yes, you’re small and so am I. God will still use you. He will work through small bands of pastors who are committed to advancing the Gospel together. Our future depends on fueling the faithfulness and fraternity of every single local pastor. You don’t need a title to lead. You don’t need an office to make a difference.

You just need to be sick of the status quo.

Let’s come together, let’s work together, let’s do things we could never do on our own.

You don’t need the Restoration Network to do this, but you’re welcome to reach out if you want to join us.