Occasionally, God allows us to shift from chronos time into kairos time.
Chronos is clock time. Seconds, minutes, months, and years. All time is precious (Ephesians 5:16), but chronos is, by its nature, “every day.”
On the other hand, kairos is a critical window of opportunity. Conditions align for a remarkable, perhaps once-in-a-lifetime chance to bring about lasting change.
It is a time such as Isaiah 43:19, when the LORD declares, “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”
May 27, 1827 was a kairos moment. Protestants were able to celebrate the Lord’s Supper for the first time in the city of Baton Rouge. This marked the birth of FPCBR through its original 15 members. For some, it was the first time they had received communion in 25 years! One year later, a congregation of 36 raised $3000 to purchase a lot and a little wooden chapel. A vision to further God’s Kingdom was birthed.
1923 brought another kairos moment. The congregation voted to purchase a new site and broke ground on our present-day sanctuary in 1926. The cost was $275,000, a bit over $5 million in today’s dollars. What I love is that a congregation of just over 600 built a sanctuary that could hold (Lord, and fire marshals willing) 1000 souls. A year after building, the church was up to 900 members.
Here is the charge given to our church at our 100th anniversary:
They have long since passed to their reward, but their hopes and their prayers have found fruition in the church of today. The little group of fifteen has grown into a congregation of more than nine hundred; the modest frame structure which was erected has given place to the splendid edifice in which we worship today; but we serve the same Master and work for the same end – the advancement of His kingdom; and it is our earnest prayer that we may be found zealous and faithful and may not prove unworthy of the trust committed to us.
What a wonderful word for us today, for now in our generation, a kairos moment beckons. A congregation that has been rooted deeply in Christ for 200 years can reach further into the world like few others. The ability to increase our local mission impact, as well as provide increased opportunity for our counselors, youth programs, theological education, spiritual formation and a vibrant Christian witness in the heart of our downtown is before us.
Between campus expansion and preparing for our anniversary, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of ways to get involved!
God is doing a new thing! Let’s join together and follow him in it!
Scott
