Engaging Our Faith: A Journey Towards Confidence and Community

Dear First Pres SLO Family,

Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Messiah, the one who shows us what God is like, and who calls us to do the same for others.

As I’ve been saying over the past month, we’re entering this new church year with a goal. In my teaching and preaching, and in the other ministries of this church, our goal is to help all of us become more confident and effective in the ways we engage the wider culture in faith.

There is so much about the relationship between Christian faith and the broader world that isn’t working right now. Some of that is because people are using Christian language to promote behaviors that have nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus.

We’re going to learn to do better.

When we hear something that goes against what we know our faith is about, it can be hard to challenge it knowledgably and graciously. We’re going to work to be more confident and effective in the ways we do that.

Our messages between now and Advent will be focused on the Fruit of the Spirit—the kinds of people we’re meant to be because of our faith. On Thursday nights we’ll spend some time seeing how we got to the place we’re in, and talk about how to do it better.

The description of the class is below. I hope you’ll join me on this journey of learning, listening, thinking, and putting our beliefs into action.

Blessings to you and yours,

Pastor John