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I wonder if Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins knew what they would discover when they went to the moon. Did they know the risks ahead of them, and did they understand how difficult and lonely the journey could be? 

We often forget how dangerous those journeys into space were and how much was unknown during the Apollo missions. They launched those rockets on theories, planning,  meticulous calculations, and incredible engineering, but I would argue that a large part of the journey was sheer faith. It is not always easy to put your life in the hands of faith. 

Faith in people, machines and, dare I say, God? 

The world vastly differs from 1969, even in my life since 1983. How far have we come in 40 years? It is said that the iPhone has over 100,000 times the computer's processing power that landed on the moon. Many believe the best days are behind us and would like to return to the good old days. But for better or worse, we live in this world, time and space. 

If we are honest, whilst society has moved, our church has been unable to keep up with the pace of change. Our Churches look a lot like they did 50 years ago, except for the fact that there are fewer members and fewer children. 

So how do we respond to this? 

In the same way, those three astronauts did. We use theories, plan, calculate, engineer, but most importantly, have faith. We launch rockets into the unknown. 

I am excited about the future; we don't know the world we will encounter, but we know we are here because God has placed us here. 

Blessings 

Justin