A Ship in the Harbor

By Rev. Caitlin Childers Brown

Pastor and Minister of Service & Community

At my desk in Norfolk, I could hear the chug of trains pulling into the Port of Virginia, planes from Norfolk Naval Station, and my favorite—the low deep horn of the tug boat as they guided large container ships through the Chesapeake Bay. I always smiled at that noise—in part because it was a reminder of how close we were to the water, but also because it was a sound of guidance, of another boat safely making its way through bridges and tunnels, beachgoers, and choppy waters.

I recently came across a quote that has stuck with me, “The safest place for ships is in the harbor, but that’s not why ships were built.”(1) For me, personally, the quote spoke to my sense of calling to leave those beloved tug boats and return to Macon to pastor this sweet church. Leaving the comfort of the harbor of the life we had built in Virginia to test these new waters of co-pastoring at Highland Hills. I share this quote with you all because I see a greater implication for the life of our church: our ship of a church has been in the harbor for a while. It has been getting the much-needed repairs and restoration after a rocky and trying season.
 
This Sunday for us marks a new season, one in which we embark on the open waters of the future. It won't be safe, and the path ahead won't look like the one that got us here, but we will still be in the same boat of Highland Hills Baptist Church guided by the Holy Spirit. For some on this boat, the new adventure will be exciting, you have hoped and prayed for the new season of the church. For others, this new season is scary as it ventures into the unknown but you are still along for the journey. We are journeying, even being tugged back out into the open waters of church life, into the unknown adventure ahead. We hear the horn of the tugboat, (or in this case the Holy Spirit) as we are guided, shaped, and directed on our journey through the many things that fill our safe harbor.
 
Sunday will be part installation service and part celebration of the good work God has done and will continue to do at this church and through these people. If you haven't been in a while, I invite you to come and be a part of this Sunday and this new season of the church. Join us as we begin our venture into hopeful and open waters, and may we too hear the low, long, horn reminding us of our guided journey.

(1) Edwin Friedman, A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix