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Esse Quam Videri Back in '99 I reminded us of words written to this congregation in our second newsletter (August '74) by John Halbrook, our pastor at the time. John challenged, "Without great dreams, great victories can not happen. We have a sufficiency of dreams, but we need the stamina to remain consistent in our vision…. In the struggle, Metro will be guided by our faith in the essentiality of Christ and by our dreams of expanding this Christian community. Our mandate is esse quam videri - TO BE rather than to seem." On the 2nd, as we celebrate the milestone of having met our mortgage obligations we will be doing more than just burning a piece of paper. We will be celebrating what I believe has been our faithfulness to live out that motto in this community. Without our conscious awareness, those words have guided our deliberations and our planning. They have directed our execution of the decisions we have reached. The event which we celebrate is not about money or buildings, rather it is about people committed to being a nexus between God and community. If
you like me enjoy reading good mystery novels, then you know the frustration
of following "red herrings" or false clues. Such clues "seem"
to be the links needed to make the connection and solve the mystery. Follow
them and you never reach the goal. For redemption to occur, links between
God and God's creation must be genuine. In Christ we have received such
a nexus. The church as the "people of God," the "redeemed
of the Lord," is commissioned to be such a link. Metro Baptist Church
was born out of that self-understanding. The people of Metro and the building
out of which we minister have served and will continue to serve as a nexus
between God and this community. June 2nd marks a day to celebrate our
past faithfulness and to look forward to the future with renewed commitment.
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