Building & Abiding Campaign #1

Author: Noah Lawson

As we begin the first week of the Building & Abiding for Kingdom Peace & Prosperity Capital Campaign I am struck by the fact that we are also in the first days of what the Church refers to as “Bright Week” (the week that immediately follows the Feast of the Resurrection and kicks off the 50 days of the Easter celebration).

During these days of celebration we revel and glory in the fact of Jesus’ resurrection and the implications for the life of his disciples: what is true for Jesus is true for those who know him and love him…his disciples have been crucified with him and have also been raised with him! What good and great news!  

A careful study of the Bible reveals one of the most beautiful of all biblical truths: God has a plan for humanity’s flourishing in the present! God’s desire is that you and me, and everyone else, would not just survive but thrive! Our flourishing and thriving is made possible because of God’s limitless love and fathomless faithfulness as proven in the miracle of our Lord Jesus’ resurrection. The Building & Abiding Capital Campaign invites all members of Emmanuel Anglican Church to participate in God’s plan for our individual, and communal, flourishing and thriving; for our living into resurrection life here and now! 

In Jeremiah 29:5-7, we find these remarkable instructions:

"Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."

God's first instruction to the exiles is surprising: "Build houses and settle down" (Jeremiah 29:5a). He's telling them to establish themselves in the foreign land, not to live as temporary residents. This command challenges the disciple to fully engage with their current circumstances, even when they're not what was expected or desired. When a person finds themselves in unfamiliar territory – whether it's a new job, a new city, a new phase of life, or even a new church location like 1300 E. Shaw Avenue – their instinct might be to hold back, to wait until things get better or until they can move on. But God calls us, the disciples of Jesus, to invest in where we are right now.  

The next instruction is equally practical: "Plant gardens and eat what they produce" (Jeremiah 29:5b). This isn't just about agriculture; it's about creating something sustainable, something that will nourish over time. In our lives, this might look like developing new skills, nurturing relationships, or investing in personal growth. In our context as members of EAC what does it look like for each of us to develop, grow, and mature as disciples of Jesus? 

As we begin this sermon series for the capital campaign, and continue to ask the Lord what he is wanting to do through each of us in this campaign, our theme passage invites us to engage in deep reflection as we discern the implications of God’s direction to his people. Some questions that we might ask ourselves are: 

1. How am I putting down roots where God has planted EAC?

2. In what ways might I be choosing to live with a “one foot out the door” mentality instead of committing to the place God has led us? 

3. What "gardens" am I helping to plant here at EAC? 

4. Am I cultivating habits, relationships, and the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given to me for the sake of EAC’s thriving not just surviving? 

As you ponder this scripture and these questions over the next week I invite you to join me in prayer as we offer this week’s Building & Abiding Capital Campaign Collect,

“Almighty God, Heavenly Father, you are the creator and sustainer of all things: enable us to confidently live into the vision that you have laid before Emmanuel Anglican Church; to build and abide where you have led us and to plant generously in faith-filled expectation of the fruit you will produce in us; through Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.”