the anxious bench

Trust me, the title sounds like it's way worse than it really is. Funny name and my initial impression of it is not like what it actually is. This morning, Bill preached from Paul's passage about being a Presbyterian of Presbyterians... wait, sorry, it was a Hebrew of Hebrews... you know the one, where he goes on to say that he counts it all a loss for the sake of Jesus Christ. It's interesting, because Bill's preaching both his farewell sermons and his inaugural sermons in the same breath, and I imagine it's a challenge.

He chose this morning to illustrate his sermon with a word picture of three chairs, challenging us to really focus and decide which seat we would sit in. The first was a recliner: comfort, complacency. The second was a rocking chair: a chair of motion, of appeasement, but no progress. The third was the "anxious bench": an old revival term for a seat of surrender, costly, uncertain, but trusting in God. The announcement was made: a new church is being birthed; its first meeting will be Easter Sunday. Place: TBA. Time: TBA. Who: signups are starting today, out in the courtyard, for any who would choose to step out of the comfort of Covenant, who would decide that Presbytery's offer is no compromise, who would want to join in a new thing, a new church.

We (meaning the Cornetts) are officially on the "anxious bench". Hope to see you there.