Our Church, this Year

A conversation with Cameron in late fall of 2024, right after marching band season, has stayed with me for months. The football season was done, competitions were over, and the Christmas parades were complete. It had been a full and eventful season. But Cameron was unexpectedly sad.

He said, “I’ll never be part of that band again.”
Now, that moment felt profound. I asked Cameron what he meant. He replied, “Well, some kids will graduate. Others will move on. Some new kids will join us. I’ll play again next year, but it will be with a new band.”

That reflection struck me. Our conversation about this topic has come back to it a few times since, especially now (at the time of this writing it is summer 2025) as he heads into another band season. And recently, it led me to a deeper question:
Have I ever truly considered our church for the time it is?

Why don’t I say more often, “This is Lighthouse 2025”? Why don’t we talk about our church the way Cameron talked about his band, recognizing how unique and fleeting each season really is?
Every year, the church changes. Someone new arrives. Others may move on. Someone passes away. Church life has always been this way. But that change is not something to fear; it’s something to embrace.

And that’s why I want to share three reasons I’m learning to say with more conviction:
This is our church, this year.

1. Honor History, Not Worship It

The trap of nostalgia for those stuck in the church of the past.

I’m a big fan of church history. I love sharing the stories of believers who made costly, even life-risking decisions that shaped the faith we stand in today. But when it comes to local church history, the tone often shifts. It’s not just admiration, often it’s better discribed at yearning or longing. Sometimes, it borders on worship.

Now, I think we should absolutely honor the history of our church. It’s good to tell stories, to remember what God has done in years gone by, and to celebrate the people who helped build what we have today. But we can’t live there.

Too often, nostalgia becomes an excuse for present-day inaction. The mindset creeps in:

“If we can’t do it like we used to, why even try?”
That’s not honoring the past; that’s being held hostage by it.

And while this isn’t the place to unpack it fully, I sometimes wonder if this mindset even influences our preferences in worship, our expectations around events, or the way we cling to traditions as if they were scripture.

By being held in the trap of nostalgia, we miss who we are now. We’re not the church of 1985. We’re not even the church of 2020. We are the church of today.
Should we remember? Absolutely. But we need to lead, love, and labor like today matters, because it does.

2. Too Far Ahead (years into the future)

The other side of the trap is being too far ahead. This idea is what I’d call the trap of neglect.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a good plan. As Colonel Hannibal from The A-Team used to say, “I love it when a plan comes together.”

But sometimes, we fall into a version of planning that ends up paralyzing us. We start talking about 5-year, 10-year, and even 20-year visions. Committees form to discuss who should be on other committees. Meetings are held about how the colors of our Goals might clash with the colors of the Objectives. Eventually, we produce a beautifully formatted document that no one will read again, except maybe the pastor, who now feels guilty ignoring it because “so many people worked so hard on it.”

We’ve neglected the present in trying to control and prepare for the future. We miss what needs to be done today because we’re too busy dreaming about tomorrow.

But God doesn’t call us to have all the answers five years out. He calls us to be faithful today.

Yes, we should plan. Yes, we should have direction. But there must be margin, flexibility, and Spirit-led responsiveness. Because we never know what challenge or opportunity is right around the corner. (Like a hurricane hitting the mountains of Western North Carolina in 2024. Yeah, it wasn’t on my bingo board either.)

A Pastor Mark-ism, “Let’s do the next right thing.” It’s okay to have tomorrow in mind. This is our church, this year, and we have work to do today. When we start thinking too much about what’s next, we’ve got to stop and celebrate what’s now.

3. What Are We Going to Do Right Now?

The third trap, in this conversation, is busyness.

When do we stop to celebrate? I often don’t. As churches, we fill the calendar to keep things going. But that kind of busyness often leads me to a place of “that was fun, but now it’s done and on to the next.” This type of pace will often make us question, “Why are we doing this?”

Our future isn’t scripted by anyone else. It’s shaped by today’s obedience.

Allow me to challenge you with the change I am trying to make. I try to get excited about what is happening right now. Not because I’m comparing it to some golden era of the past, and not because I’ve plotted it into a spreadsheet for the future, but because I’m in awe of what God is doing in this moment, through this church.

I begin to use phrases like, “Look at how far we’ve come in six months.”
“Did you see how that person has grown this year?”
“I am excited and proud of what this year’s mission team was able to accomplish.”

Whatever comes, we know this: God is working right now.
He is building His church through our faithfulness, our service, our prayers, and our sacrifice.

So, where is God leading us next?
Will God grow us through blessing or through challenge? Through momentum, or through pruning? Am I too worried about what is next?

I want to encourage you to say things like, “I am so proud of what God is doing in and through us today.“
So let’s worship. Let’s celebrate.
This is our church right now, this year. And look at what God is doing.

Pastor Mark’s Takeaway:

In the end, I want you to enjoy the now. Use positive words with the current time when describing the church. “I am excited for what is happening at the church today, or this week.” And as odd as it seems in today’s culture, stop, sit, and enjoy the day that the Lord has made. Let’s stop chasing a past that’s gone or a future that isn’t here yet. Let’s be fully present, because this is our church, this year.

Closing prayer

Lord,
Thank You for the gift of this church, in this season, with these people. Help us to honor the past without being bound to it, to plan for the future without being consumed by it, and to be fully present in what You are doing right now.

Teach us to celebrate faithfulness and to see Your hand in the quiet, steady work of today. Give us joy for the season we are in. Open our eyes to the growth, the blessings, and the opportunities You’ve placed right in front of us.

Strengthen our unity, inspire our worship, and renew our commitment to be Your church this year.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen.