Building Bridges

Eventually the Beacon will become the Bridge, as was decided in a recent meeting of the

congregation. We will begin to describe ourselves as Ogunquit Baptist Church- Building

Bridges.

I think that this is a good idea. It expresses to folks in town and about that we want to have

a relationship with them. People can tell, you know, if we want to be around them or

not….and as you know folks can at times have strange ideas about you and me and whether

or not we like them. It usually has something to do with how they were raised and their

development of self-esteem. Whatever the case, Paul encourages us, as much as it is

possible, on our part, to be at peace with all. He reminds us in 2nd Corinthians 5 that as

new creations we are to be Ambassadors for Christ. To be an ambassador it helps to know

the people that we’re connecting with on behalf of the KING.

Jesus calls us to go the extra mile, even with our enemies, and to love our neighbors as we

love ourselves. It’s hard to love someone when we view them as the enemy. Arguing with

someone is not loving them especially if it’s about truth. One earns the right, through

relationship building, to talk about truth. Some would describe this as building relational

capital.

I’d like to tell you a story, from the porch. I served on a Christian camp’s board for 15

years. During that time, it was my privilege to serve with 4 different camp directors. Danny

and Teddy were very active in the community. Danny served as a volunteer fireman and

EMT. Teddy invited the surrounding community to use the camps & beaches etc. In other

words, when it came to the community the camps response was a big, fat, YES!

This was not the case with the 3rd director. We began the process of expanding the camps

capacity during the terms of the previous 2 directors. Things were going well until director

3 came around. In the camps newsletter he began to describe the neighbors as the enemy

and called for everyone to pray against the enemy. The result? Years of legal battles and

$300,000 dollars in legal fees.

Director 4 is still there. He started saying YES again. He rebuilt bridges. The camp is being

revitalized and the community is once again on the beach. Building bridges is always about

perspective. Let’s build together!

-Pastor Brian