Life is an irreversible process and for that reason its future can never be a repetition of the past. That is why it is so tragic that some organizations, people, and churches tend to lose vitality rather than gain vitality as time passes. When we tend to give greater attention to what we "use to do" or the way things "use to be" rather than what we are "becoming" we lose the capacity to make the potential of our futures a reality.
It is easier to look back and smile about yesterday's accomplishments than to look ahead and think about tomorrow's possibilities. We don't seem to realize that our eyes are in the front of our head because it is more important to look where we are going than to keep looking back to where we have been. Every tomorrow has two handles: we can take hold of the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith. It is our choice.
I am happy to say that South Bay Community Church has not been a "use to do" kind of church and I am so proud to be a part of you. I have become a better person just by hanging around with you. It's been 23 years of incredible joy. God has spoiled us with His lavish goodness and we can't help but expect an even greater tomorrow. Our task is not to foresee it but to enable it.
I believe South Bay Community is made up of some of the best people this side of heaven. What a privilege God has given me to serve Him by serving you. What a tomorrow we are going to have! I can hardly wait to see what God is going to do through us together.
So, let's live and work for God every day so that we will never be ashamed of yesterday or afraid of tomorrow. Always remembering that the future is not something we enter but something we create and it belongs to those who belong to God.
With Much Love,
Pastor Stanley Long
A Message From Pastor Long