Last week I learned of three churches that closed their doors in Park City in the last 90 days... And, it is this week that we (The United Methodist Church at Park City) will officially "open" our doors to the public for the first time. Will we make it? Will our doors remain open? Will we survive and thrive?
Truly I must say, I do not know... I cannot say... And, I am unable to see down the corridor of what will become of us, of this small group of people sharing life, labor and friendship, and of what will become of the "calling" to this new work we have put our hands, hearts and minds to.
However, I do know this, we have truly given it our all. We are completely "poured out" on this Altar of calling and possibility. We have "left everything" on this field. And, in so doing, everywhere I turn, or find myself, whether in personal prayer and devotion, or in conversation and in interaction, or in solitude and even in commotion... Everywhere I go, I find the calm, still assurance, that God truly "is" in this work that we have abandoned everything to pursue. And, that God will "come through" beyond my ability to hope, work and aspire.
The words of Jesus, regarding the Church as I believe He envisioned it, have sustained me through every assault of the enemy, through every difficult moment, and through every discouraging coincidence of this process. "...upon this rock I will build My Church; and the Gates of Hell will not overpower it." (Matthew 16:18)
I believe these "Jesus Words" from then, are Jesus' words also for here and now, for this moment in my life personally, and for even (possibly) this "hour" in the history of the Church. For me personally, I know that God has called me back to this place of a desperate personal relationship with Jesus, and an intimate confession of faith. It has been a time in which I have felt frequently that there was nothing else to cling to, and that there was no one else to rely upon. These experiences have caused me to think critically about my previous years of ministry, about how I could have or should have been more abandoned to Jesus, and to wonder what it might be like if the Church everywhere could return to, and could begin to rebuild upon, the foundation of a desperate personal relationship with Jesus, and of an intimate and yet public confession of faith.
That is who I believe Peter was, and what I perceive Peter was doing as he made his confession of faith in Matthew 16:16. And, that is what I believe Jesus was explicitly referring to when He spoke of the "foundation" of the Church in verses 17 & 18 of that passage. So, I have to ask, is it possible that this is this the "Sweet Spot" for the life, ministry and mission of the Church? Is it this kind of Church, built upon a foundation of desperate people who will go anywhere Jesus calls them to go, and do anything Jesus calls them to do, over which the Gates of Hell will not prevail?
Personally, I am believing more and more every day that it is. That there really is nothing more in this life worth living for than Jesus and His purposes for the world and for my life. And, I am praying desperately that I can be a small but faithful part of whatever it is He throws me into. And, that come failure or success in the eyes of the world, I will be able to keep my eyes fixed determinedly on Jesus through this life and on into the next. No matter what...
Rob Schmutz, Pastor
The Church at Park CityZechariah 4:10a
