“Steep your life in God’s Reality, God’s Initiative, and God’s Provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find that all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” — Matthew 6:33b-34 (MSG)
Dear siblings in Christ,
I thank God for the honor of serving the Susquehanna Conference of the United Methodist Church as your new episcopal leader. My family and I are grateful for the many expressions of hospitality from clergy, laity, and staff as we transition into a new missional assignment, shared housing situation, and community. We are hopeful and look forward to getting to know you better and doing life and ministry together in the coming years. You can learn more about our journey thus far here. You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram @BishopHectorABurgos.
In late August, I went through a formal onboarding process with the Susquehanna Conference staff and cabinet, which allowed me to get to know them (and you) better and provided invaluable insights about who you are and your hopes for our future together. In the coming weeks and months, I will collaborate with the cabinet to organize our ministry for the remainder of 2024 and beyond and prepare for the 2025 appointment season.
The past 4-6 years have been filled with numerous blessings. These have also been years that required significant adaptations in how we go about our ministry, given the realities created by an unprecedented global pandemic, reduced financial resources, an extended season of disagreements and disaffiliation in our denomination, and the many challenges impacting our communities, nation, and the world. In all, I can proclaim with joy that God has been good. God has sustained us and provided for our needs.
Over the past 18 months, as I have engaged with different constituencies in my newer role as a bishop, I have noticed that one of the most significant challenges these days for most of us, as servant leaders in the church, given all that’s going on in the world and the church, is staying focused on the present—fully being present to one another in the NOW.
Questions, concerns, and uncertainties about the future of our congregations, communities, and beloved denomination are becoming a heavy burden for many, especially those called to leadership in the church, even in this new season post-general conference, which is pregnant with hope and new possibilities and opportunities. Given these realities and challenges, we can draw encouragement from the wisdom found in Matthew 6:33-34. This wisdom can guide us in our roles as leaders in the church today and into the future.
According to the “experts” on organizational leadership, one of the core functions of influential leaders is to carry the burden of tomorrow with us—to carry the weight of future uncertainties, strategize, and plan for what may lie ahead. We all know what this looks like; perhaps you are working on an important project right now or dealing with a personal situation that is important and urgent in the now, while at the same time, in the back of your mind, you are also preoccupied with the future. We carry the burden of tomorrow with us because that’s what we are told we should do.
However, Matthew 6:34 exposes us to the gospel’s countercultural message. While the world’s wisdom tells us that we need to carry the burdens of the future, Jesus calls us to release the burden of tomorrow, trust God, and fully engage in every season of our lives and ministries.
By saying this, I am not suggesting that we should not consider the future and reflect on the best ways to take the next faithful steps toward it. I am not suggesting that we should not project into the future or use data and trends to inform what future possibilities and probabilities might be. I am not suggesting that we should not do scenario planning or cast vision. All this is important and necessary as we seek to be good stewards of God’s mission in the world and our local context here in central and northeastern Pennsylvania.
However, as leaders and, most importantly, as followers of Christ, we constantly need to remind ourselves that there is a big difference between considering the future and being burdened by the future. We can’t allow the “what ifs” of tomorrow to prevent us from doing what God is calling us to do today.
This is essential stuff. Mission critical—many leaders, congregations, and institutions are not fully engaging in their God-given mission TODAY because they are overburdened with the “what ifs” of TOMORROW! These “what ifs,” when they are articulated/ verbalized, become debilitating burdens that, when we dig deeper, are a symptom of a dangerous scarcity mindset that’s contrary to the principles of the reign of God and that glorify challenges, obstacles, and pessimistic scenarios about what could happen in the future —and even worse, in light of verse 33, possibly an unseen sign of a debilitated faith.
We cannot live abundantly (John 10:10) or lead effectively if we are constantly overburdened by these “what ifs.” We must release our anxieties about the future and surrender them to God. We must fully engage the present with all its beauty and ugliness, trusting that God’s provision for today (and tomorrow) is enough to live into God’s dream for our lives and ministries.
Another challenge we face as leaders when considering the future is the fear of the unknown. The things we don’t know or can’t anticipate. Fear of the unknown can cripple effective discipleship and leadership. If we allow it, it can paralyze and rob us of the joy of following and serving Christ – especially during these challenging and uncertain times.
In Matthew 6:34, Jesus encourages us as leaders to replace fear of the unknown with FAITH. I know it is easier said than done. However, the Holy Spirit reminds us today that we can replace fear with faith because, as I mentioned before, God’s provision is abundant and because while the future might be unknown to us, it is not to God.
God knows about our future. Not only does God know, but Scripture also proclaims that God has a plan for our future, and it’s good! (Even if everything around us tells us otherwise). The prophet Jeremiah, speaking from God, once said. “I know (meaning God) the plans I have for you. Plans for peace, not evil, to give you a future and hope—never forget that.” — Jeremiah 29:11 AVB
When we release the burden of the future that we often carry with us, a burden that is frequently self-imposed and heavier than God intended it to be, when we let go of our anxieties, when we replace our fears with faith, then we can be better stewards of the present. We can entirely give ourselves to the opportunities and responsibilities in the present. We can engage in the challenges we face with our hearts at peace. We can fully live the gospel of Christ today and strive to embody God’s love with our neighbors.
Do you know what else happens when we release our anxieties and fears about the future, seek God, and fully engage in the present? We pave the way for a future that aligns with God’s vision and purposes.
Let’s be clear: there is no such thing as being faithful to God “tomorrow” (so why worry so much about it)—God calls and needs us to be faithful TODAY!
The invitation for us as disciples and leaders at the Susquehanna Conference is simple yet life-changing: release your anxieties and fears about the future, focus on the tasks at hand with faith, trust that God’s plan is unfolding and that God’s provision is more than enough.
In this news season, let’s be good stewards of the present. Let’s give ourselves entirely to today’s realities, challenges, and opportunities and release our anxieties about tomorrow, knowing we are not alone. God is with us. We have everything needed to live into God’s vision for the church and the world.
Our future is in good hands—because it is in God’s hands.
Paz,
Bishop Héctor A. Burgos Núñez
Resident Bishop
