The Annual Meeting. It is a requirement of both church and state law. Maybe we would be done with it if we weren’t so required.  I mean, after all, it takes away good nap time on a Sunday afternoon, and when do we ever not just vote unanimously for whatever action items or nominations come before us?  How do you spell rubber stamp?  Try a-n-n-u-a-l-m-e-e-t-i-n-g.

LPC is holding its Annual Meeting this coming Sunday.  1:00 p.m. for those not napping.

But what if our Annual Meeting is more than fulfilling the requirements of civil and ecclesial law?  What if we look carefully and see God’s fingerprints all over what we are tempted to see as an exercise in rubber stamping?

If you are an LPC member or friend, I hope you have found time to read the Annual Report booklet.  (Don’t have one?  Go by the church right now, grab you copy, and read it before Sunday.)  Most of the booklet is filled with written reports from committee chairs and staff members.  Read them.  They tell a little bit of the story of God’s faithfulness to us in 2018.  So do the spreadsheets and the budget reports. “Blessings abound where’er he reigns,” as the old hymn puts it.

If you look at the docket for the meeting, you will notice that we hear from the Nominating Committee several times. Importantly, we will elect new officers – elders, deacons, and trustees to serve for the next three years. Buried beneath the parliamentary procedure of closing nominations, waiving the secret ballot, and all that, is something nothing less than “Wow!”

As I moderate the meeting, I proudly plan to use one of my favorite phrases from the PCUSA Book of Order concerning our new officers: that they have been “chosen by God through the voice of this congregation.”

We are not rubber stamping at all.  We are allowing God to use our voices for his amazing work. Rather than yawning, we ought to say our “yea” with fear and trembling.

Here is part of what the EPC Book of Order says about church office:
These offices are not indications of special pre-eminence by those who hold them, but rather indicate a call to service, to ministry, to special discipleship and the evidencing of the fruit of the Spirit in every part of life.

And then about those who will serve us as Elders, Deacons, and Trustees:
According to Scripture, those who bear office in the Church should exhibit certain characteristics of life. This includes being above reproach, sound in the faith, wise in the things of God, and discreet in all things. Persons who fill this office should exhibit a lifestyle that is an example to all, both in and outside the Church…

As the law of love places certain duties upon each Christian, Church Officers are especially bound by their calling to fulfill them and to be an example to all.

Four elders, four deacons, and five trustees.  With fear and trembling these thirteen sister and brother LPC members have said yes to being considered for church office.  Not only must we say our “yea” with fear and trembling, we must pray for them all, all of the time, with fear and trembling.

Read the Annual Report. You can’t help but see God’s fingerprints all over LPC’s 2018.  I can hardly wait to see what comes next.

For sure, see you at the Annual Meeting!