Good morning, Imagine Church Family and Friends,
In March of 2012, I preached one Sunday from the spindle pulpit of The Village Chapel in Pinehurst, North Carolina, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. As I scanned the portraits of the church’s former pastors, the name of Russell Conwell caught my attention. Early in my years of ministry, I ran across his famous address entitled, “Acres of Diamonds.” In it, he told about a farmer who grew tired of working the rocky soil of his old homestead. One day he sold his farm and set out to find his fortune. He traveled the world with no success. Finally, his resources exhausted, he decided to return home. When he arrived, he discovered that one of the richest diamond mines on earth had been unearthed on the very farm he used to own.
Conwell told that story thousands of times across America. His purpose was to remind his listeners that opportunities can be found everywhere, no matter where we live or who we are. The winners and losers in any game are not always determined by the final score. In every defeat, there can be seeds of victory if we learn to look for them.
Years ago, in Decatur, Illinois, there was a boy who ordered a book on photography. The publisher made a mistake and sent instead a manual on magic and ventriloquism. The little boy was troubled about this mistake but decided to read the book anyway. The world is glad he did. Edgar Bergen got a wooden dummy, named it Charlie McCarthy, and charmed millions with his talents.
We don’t really know when we have had a good day. Sometimes the best days turn out less than good, and the worst of days turn out to be our finest hours. Too often we judge too much of life from too short a vantage point. It’s a wise person who takes the longer view. Time renders its own verdict on the significance of any particular moment. It’s a mistake to become discouraged about any circumstance.
When preaching that day at The Village Chapel, I was one of two finalists from 127 candidates to become the next Senior Pastor of that prestigious church. The call eventually was extended to the other. Though initially disappointed, that action eventually led to my decision to return home two years later and help launch Imagine Church, which has become the most satisfying and rewarding pastorate I have experienced across these decades of parish ministry.
I learned a profound lesson during that episode in my own life. A circumstance can knock us down and keep us down, or we can use it as a ladder to victory. It depends on how we respond to it.
A long time ago, there was a kind and gentle teacher named Jesus, who for strange and unjust reasons was brought to trial for his life. When execution seemed inevitable, he waged no counterattack. He went to his death on a Roman cross with courage and dignity. Time has exonerated him of all guilt. Today, despite those efforts to silence him, his voice is heard to the ends of the earth. Jesus stands as an eternal reminder that no want of life needs to destroy us. Every circumstance is filled with opportunities if we have the will and the courage to look for them.
Urging you to take the longer view,
Bruce Jones, Pastor
Imagine Church
